What's The Harm?

A place to get your questions answered from McDougall staff dietitian, Jeff Novick, MS, RDN.

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Postby MariusA » Tue Mar 24, 2009 5:18 am

Read all the topics, I think again, and understood some things.

1. We don't need nuts/seeds health-wise. I mean they have much lower nutrients per calories levels than green leafy vegetables or starches.

2. Consuming more fat, any fat, is bad for your health, all the vitamins and minerals requirements go up just to fight the destructive actions of fat.

3. The protein can't be stored so is eliminated from the body but the fat can be stored for periods of food scarcity. That doesn't mean it's good, the only good and reliable energy source are the carbohydrates.

I'll keep consuming 20-25g of flax seeds each day for my dermatitis sebhorreic and that's it, no more nuts and seeds, just "stupid"(empty) calories, that don't even get burned that efficient as carbohydrates.

Any studies on how to control or heal this dermatitis sebhorreic you know of would be very helpful for me.

Thank you.

PS: How to consume the flax, grinded or soaked in some water?
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Ending seborrheic dermatitis

Postby Burgess » Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:12 am

MariusA wrote:I'll keep consuming 20-25g of flax seeds each day for my dermatitis sebhorreic and that's it, no more nuts and seeds, just "stupid"(empty) calories, that don't even get burned that efficient as carbohydrates.

Any studies on how to control or heal this dermatitis sebhorreic you know of would be very helpful for me.

My experience, for my condition, was that seeds of all kinds--including flax--aggravated my skin problems (eczema, rosacea, and seborrheic dermatitis). Eliminating all animal products and all seeds (grains, beans, peas, nuts) got rid of the eczema and the rosacea. Only pharmaceuticals helped on the seborrheic dermatitis:

http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2009/ ... opped.html

My dermatologist and the literature he provided suggested that SD is not caused by dietary factors but might be a secondary result of other inflammations. Even when those other inflammations go away the SD can remain unless knocked down by phrarmaceuticals. I think of this as analogous to some fevers. They seem to "stick" at a certain level. Even a single aspirin can knock them down and they don't return. In other words, some inflammations seem to feed on themselves, so to speak.

(Caution: I am a layman speaking only from my own limited experience and indirect knowledge.)
Burgess Laughlin, Star McDougaller
My books: http://www.reasonversusmysticism.com
My health weblog: http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com
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Postby boardn10 » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:54 pm

Jeff, what is one to do if they are told by a doctor to take lots of supplements when under treatment? I have a cabinet filled with supp's and I will discontinue once I am finished my treatment however. Hopefully a year or two of supp's will not have a huge impact on my health in a negative way. The big ones are probiotics, a multi, fish oil, extra magnesium and Vit C.
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:00 pm

Vitamin C supplements and the risk of age-related cataract: a population-based prospective cohort study in women.

BACKGROUND: Experimental animal studies have shown adverse effects of high-dose vitamin C supplements on age-related cataract.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether vitamin C supplements ( approximately 1000 mg) and multivitamins containing vitamin C ( approximately 60 mg) are associated with the incidence of age-related cataract extraction in a population-based, prospective cohort of women.

DESIGN: Our study included 24,593 women aged 49-83 y from the Swedish Mammography Cohort (follow-up from September 1997 to October 2005). We collected information on dietary supplement use and lifestyle factors with the use of a self-administrated questionnaire. Cataract extraction cases were identified by linkage to the cataract extraction registers in the geographical study area.

RESULTS: During the 8.2 y of follow-up (184,698 person-years), we identified 2497 cataract extraction cases. The multivariable hazard ratio (HR) for vitamin C supplement users compared with that for nonusers was 1.25 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.50). The HR for the duration of >10 y of use before baseline was 1.46 (95% CI: 0.93, 2.31). The HR for the use of multivitamins containing vitamin C was 1.09 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.25). Among women aged >/=65 y, vitamin C supplement use increased the risk of cataract by 38% (95% CI: 12%, 69%). Vitamin C use among hormone replacement therapy users compared with that among nonusers of supplements or of hormone replacement therapy was associated with a 56% increased risk of cataract (95% CI: 20%, 102%). Vitamin C use among corticosteroid users compared with that among nonusers of supplements and corticosteroids was associated with an HR of 1.97 (95% CI: 1.35, 2.88).

Conclusion: Our results indicate that the use of vitamin C supplements may be associated with higher risk of age-related cataract among women.

PMID: 19923367

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19923367
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:37 pm

Original Contribution
Ginkgo biloba for Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
A Randomized Trial

JAMA. 2009;302(24):2663-2670.

ABSTRACT

Context

The herbal product Ginkgo biloba is taken frequently with the intention of improving cognitive health in aging. However, evidence from adequately powered clinical trials is lacking regarding its effect on long-term cognitive functioning.

Objective

To determine whether G biloba slows the rates of global or domain-specific cognitive decline in older adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 3069 community-dwelling participants aged 72 to 96 years, conducted in 6 academic medical centers in the United States between 2000 and 2008, with a median follow-up of 6.1 years.

Intervention

Twice-daily dose of 120-mg extract of G biloba (n = 1545) or identical-appearing placebo (n = 1524).

Main Outcome Measures

Rates of change over time in the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE), in the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), and in neuropsychological domains of memory, attention, visual-spatial construction, language, and executive functions, based on sums of z scores of individual tests.

Results

Annual rates of decline in z scores did not differ between G biloba and placebo groups in any domains, including memory (0.043; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.034-0.051 vs 0.041; 95% CI, 0.032-0.050), attention (0.043; 95% CI, 0.037-0.050 vs 0.048; 95% CI, 0.041-0.054), visuospatial abilities (0.107; 95% CI, 0.097-0.117 vs 0.118; 95% CI, 0.108-0.128), language (0.045; 95% CI, 0.037-0.054 vs 0.041; 95% CI, 0.033-0.048), and executive functions (0.092; 95% CI, 0.086-0.099 vs 0.089; 95% CI, 0.082-0.096). For the 3MSE and ADAS-Cog, rates of change varied by baseline cognitive status (mild cognitive impairment), but there were no differences in rates of change between treatment groups (for 3MSE, P = .71; for ADAS-Cog, P = .97). There was no significant effect modification of treatment on rate of decline by age, sex, race, education, APOE*E4 allele, or baseline mild cognitive impairment (P > .05).

Conclusion

Compared with placebo, the use of G biloba, 120 mg twice daily, did not result in less cognitive decline in older adults with normal cognition or with mild cognitive impairment.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/302/24/2663

The real irony is that according to the study, "Ginkgo biloba is perhaps the most widely used herbal treatment consumed specifically to prevent age-related cognitive decline."


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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby AlexS » Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:20 pm

Jeff,

What do you say to those who tell you that supplementation is recommended because todays fruits and vegetables are deficient in vitamin and minerals due to the soil being depleted of these nutrients?
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:45 pm

AlexS wrote:Jeff,

What do you say to those who tell you that supplementation is recommended because todays fruits and vegetables are deficient in vitamin and minerals due to the soil being depleted of these nutrients?


http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... nerals.htm

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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby AlexS » Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:35 pm

Thanks Jeff. I likely read this back 2003 but totally forgot about it.
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:11 pm

Putting Limits on Vitamin E

ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2009) — Vitamin-fortified foods and dietary health supplements can ease health worries. But what kinds of vitamins are right for you? And how much of them should you take, and how often?

A research group from Tel Aviv University has done the most comprehensive and accurate study of clinical data on Vitamin E use and heart disease to date, and it warns that indiscriminate use of high-dose Vitamin E supplementation does more harm than good. Their results were recently reported in ATVB, a leading journal of cardiology, and discussed in the journal BioFactors.

"There were so many conflicting reports about Vitamin E and its effect on various diseases, particularly heart disease, that we wanted to set the record straight, says Prof. Dov Lichtenberg of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine.

"Our new study shows that some people may be harmed by the treatment, whereas others may benefit from it. Now we're trying to identify groups of people that are most likely to benefit from the effects of Vitamin E," adds study co-researcher Dr. Ilya Pinchuk. The TAU research team also included decision analyst Dr. Moshe Leshno of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Leon Recanati Faculty of Management and Dr. Yedidya (Didi) Dotan, whose PhD thesis is the basis for this analysis.

A longer life without it?

Applying a very different approach than any previous study, the team of researchers put their heads together to draw definitive conclusions about Vitamin E. In their publication in ATVB the Tel Aviv University researchers evaluated the results of the prominent studies measuring the health benefits of Vitamin E but reached varying conclusions. There have been many previous publications on the subject. Analysis of the results of all these past publications together revealed that subjects who did not take a Vitamin E supplement enjoyed more quality-adjusted-life-years (QALY), a standard parameter used in medicine to assess the effect of medical interventions.

"To explain the meaning of this parameter," says Dr. Pinchuk, "consider a participant who was healthy during the first 10 out of 20 years of the study, but then suffered a stroke and became dependent on others throughout the following 10 years. The QALY during the first 10 years of healthy life is 10, but after the stroke the quality of life is only half of what this person had before. Therefore, the second decade is considered the equivalent of merely 5 years of healthy life and in sum a person's QALY is 15.

The researchers examined data from more than 300,000 subjects in the US, Europe and Israel. "Our major finding," says Dr. Pinchuk, "was that the average quality-adjusted life years (QALY) of Vitamin E-supplemented individuals was 0.30 less than that of untreated people. This, of course, does not mean that everybody consuming Vitamin E shortens their life by almost 4 months. But on average, the quality-adjusted longevity is lower for vitamin-treated people. This says something significant."

Overturning earlier studies

In the BioFactors article, the TAU researchers defined "the real challenge as being able to identify who is likely to benefit taking Vitamin E." They also explored the first hypothesis of the oxidative theory of atherosclerosis published more than 20 years ago, which was the basis for the widespread use of antioxidants today. At first, this hypothesis raised great enthusiasm that anti-oxidants like Vitamins E and C and flavonoids could be used to prevent disease or its progression. In this respect, the new findings are very disappointing.

"We've now concluded that going to the grocery or to a health food store to buy Vitamin E supplements, for the most part, won't do you good. In some cases it can do harm," says Dr. Pinchuk. "A doctor wouldn't prescribe anti-hypertension drugs to the whole population, only to those with low blood pressure. It seems this is true for antioxidants, too. When you give them to everybody, you may be doing more harm than good. Some people may benefit from it, but more may be harmed."

The researchers are now building sets of criteria that detail under what conditions Vitamin E supplements should be taken. They are also investigating the chemical mechanisms of antioxidants in general to better understand how they work
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby Jaggu » Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:51 pm

Jeff,

Do you know of any study done on efficacy of Vitamin D supplements?
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:20 am

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-12 ... ony-counts


Phony Bonita doctor charged with felonies

Posted By chris.nixon On January 12, 2010

SAN DIEGO - A Bonita man accused of falsely identifying himself as a chiropractor and offering dangerous dietary supplements as alternative remedies for cancer and other ailments must stand trial on 13 felony counts, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Kurt Donsbach, 74, is charged with five counts each of practicing medicine without a license and selling misbranded drugs with intent to defraud. He is also charged with one count each of grand theft, attempted grand theft and being a felon in possession of a gun.

Donsbach has a court record for practicing medicine without a license and other offenses dating back nearly 40 years, and at one time ran a
controversial “holistic” hospital near Tijuana.

After a preliminary hearing that stretched over parts of three or four days, Judge Charles Gill ruled there was enough evidence for the case toproceed to trial.

Donsbach faces up to 12 years and eight months if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Gina Darvas.!

Even though he has no medical or chiropractic license, Donsbach hosted a weekly online radio broadcast in which he offered “alternative, natural and nutritional” remedies for many conditions and ailments, including cancer and auto-immune disorders, Darvas said.

One alleged victim injected herself with “neuropeptides” to treat arthritis after Donsbach said it would “re-program” her body’s T-cells. The patient paid thousands of dollars for the drugs and injected herself for six years, leading to severe bone density loss, according to court papers.

In another case, Donsbach claimed he had treated pancreatic cancer successfully about 60 percent of the time and provided a supplement with nimesulide to a patient, the prosecution alleges.

Nimesulide, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, is not approved by the Federal Drug Administration and is banned in Europe because one of its ingredients has been linked to a high rate of liver failure.

Donsbach will be back in court Feb. 26 for re-arraignment on the charges and to get a trial date.

Copyright © 2009 San Diego News Network. All rights reserved.
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby Clary » Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:28 am

JeffN wrote:http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-12/local-county-news/courts/phony-bonita-doctor-charged-with-13-felony-counts
Phony Bonita doctor charged with felonies
SAN DIEGO - A Bonita man ....

What is a "Bonita doctor" or a "Bonita man" ? Is Bonita a location?
"LIFE always begins again." --Edmond Bordeaux Székely
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:57 am

Clary wrote:
JeffN wrote:http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-12/local-county-news/courts/phony-bonita-doctor-charged-with-13-felony-counts
Phony Bonita doctor charged with felonies
SAN DIEGO - A Bonita man ....

What is a "Bonita doctor" or a "Bonita man" ? Is Bonita a location?


Yes. :)

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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby JeffN » Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:24 pm

Abstract

Effect of B-Vitamin Therapy on Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy
A Randomized Controlled Trial
Andrew A. House; Misha Eliasziw; Daniel C. Cattran; David N. Churchill; Matthew J. Oliver; Adrian Fine; George K. Dresser; J. David Spence
JAMA. 2010;303(16):1603-1609.

ABSTRACT

Context

Hyperhomocysteinemia is frequently observed in patients with diabetic nephropathy. B-vitamin therapy (folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12) has been shown to lower the plasma concentration of homocysteine.

Objective

To determine whether B-vitamin therapy can slow progression of diabetic nephropathy and prevent vascular complications.

Design,

Setting, and Participants A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Diabetic Intervention with Vitamins to Improve Nephropathy [DIVINe]) at 5 university medical centers in Canada conducted between May 2001 and July 2007 of 238 participants who had type 1 or 2 diabetes and a clinical diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.

Intervention

Single tablet of B vitamins containing folic acid (2.5 mg/d), vitamin B6 (25 mg/d), and vitamin B12 (1 mg/d), or matching placebo.

Main Outcome Measures

Change in radionuclide glomerular filtration rate (GFR) between baseline and 36 months. Secondary outcomes were dialysis and a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, revascularization, and all-cause mortality. Plasma total homocysteine was also measured.

Results

The mean (SD) follow-up during the trial was 31.9 (14.4) months. At 36 months, radionuclide GFR decreased by a mean (SE) of 16.5 (1.7) mL/min/1.73 m2 in the B-vitamin group compared with 10.7 (1.7) mL/min/1.73 m2 in the placebo group (mean difference, -5.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], -10.6 to -1.1; P = .02). There was no difference in requirement of dialysis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.1; 95% CI, 0.4-2.6; P = .88). The composite outcome occurred more often in the B-vitamin group (HR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0-4.0; P = .04). Plasma total homocysteine decreased by a mean (SE) of 2.2 (0.4) µmol/L at 36 months in the B-vitamin group compared with a mean (SE) increase of 2.6 (0.4) µmol/L in the placebo group (mean difference, -4.8; 95% CI, -6.1 to -3.7; P < .001, in favor of B vitamins).

Conclusion

Among patients with diabetic nephropathy, high doses of B vitamins compared with placebo resulted in a greater decrease in GFR and an increase in vascular events.

Mass Media Article

B vitamin therapy leads to kidney function decline in kidney disease patients
Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 9:21

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/28/bvit ... -inki.html
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Re: What's The Harm?

Postby Sunshine1 » Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:43 pm

Most of us do have take B12 as recommended by Dr M. So is that a problem?
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