More work on vitamins necessary for making beneficial, standardized recommendations for public health.//

Irwin Rosenberg, MD, University Professor at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University in his paper “Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention,” outlines challenges and opportunities in advancing the scientific knowledge of vitamins and minerals.

"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 labeling of vitamin and mineral supplements and the effects of these products on nutrient adequacy as well as in chronic degenerative disease prevention. In this quest, the development of more and better surrogate markers of adverse effects will be critical. Dose-response assessments of safety are badly nee
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. New Way to "See" Genes, Evaluate Effectiveness of Gene Therapies Discovered
2. Inhaled Steroids Safe & Effective for Children with Asthma
3. ZD1839 Proves Effective - A Breakthrough in fighting Lung Cancer
4. Fluoride Found Effective in Osteoporosis
5. Aspirin and Warfarin Are Equally Effective for Stroke Prevention
6. Implantable Contact Lens Found Safe and Effective
7. Effective And Economical Agent For Anthrax
8. Stem Cell Transplants May Be Effective For MS Patients
9. Effective therapy for Huntingtons disease
10. Chemotherapy Effective for Bladder Cancer
11. Drug Effective for Vascular Dementia