( Some one hundred years after the first ...)Vitamins: Science doesn't always match policy

Some one hundred years after the first vitamin was named, what is known about them has not translated into beneficial, standardized recommendations for public health, says Irwin Rosenberg, MD, University Professor, and director of the Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. Based on his presentation at the National Institutes of Health State-of-the- Science Conference "Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention" in 2006, Rosenberg outlines challenges and opportunities to advancing the scientific knowledge of vitamins and minerals in an article published in a January supplement of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"The evidence regarding vitamin use for prevention of chronic disease is still quite rudimentary, especially for multivitamins," says Rosenberg. Furthermore, Rosenberg points to research indicating that people who use multivitamins usually have better diets and participate in more physical activity. "Since multivitamin-users are generally healthier, it might not be feasible to attribute health outcomes to vitamin use until we have more information. The best source of vitamins is food," he adds.

To close the gap between the paucity of established scientific evidence and the widespread use of vitamin supplements, Rosenberg suggests that supplements be regulated, as they are currently subject to very little federal regulation. "Right now, the term multivitamin encompasses hundreds, if not thousands, of products with varied content and dose of vitamins and minerals. It's really difficult to guide customers if we don't even know what is in the vitamins they are taking. Standards would be helpful to both consumers and industry by rewarding those companies that do science-based marketing, rather than those that make unjustified health claims."

"In particular, issues needing more attention include the content and lab
'"/>

Source:Tufts University

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Papers of DNA Pioneer and Nobel Laureate Francis Crick Added to National Library of Medicine’s Profiles in Science Web Site
2. Kinovate Life Sciences Launches Nittophase?High Performance Solid Support For Oligonucleatide Synthesis
3. Affymetrix Licenses Microfluidics Technology From Caliper Life Sciences
4. Science study holds implications for gene therapy and stem cell biology
5. Scientists generate patient-specific stem cells, Science study says
6. TrueBlue Archive Will Store Raw Life Sciences Data for Proteomics and Drug Testing
7. Leprosy genome tells story of human migrations, French researchers report in Science
8. DOEs Office of Science sets up program to aid scientists displaced by Hurricane Katrina
9. Sciences Breakthrough of the Year: Watching evolution in action
10. Sangamo BioSciences demonstrates its ZFP treatment protects cells from HIV infection
11. Are U.S. Flu Death Figures More PR Than Science?