Vitamin E has taken some heat in the mainstream press.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’ve always taken vitamin E because there’s a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it’s beneficial.  But in the last few years I’ve come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn’t help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements.  So what’s the story?

Thanks,

Mike W.

Novato, CA

Dear Mike,

Once upon a time, the type of vitamin E supplement in question wouldn’t have mattered because they were all the same. At this point in time, however, it really depends on what kind of vitamin E supplement we’re talking about. (more…)

Not-so-little Shop of Horrors: HFCS is in a dizzying array of products.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is already the subject of controversy as a calorie-dense and nearly ubiquitous sweetening ingredient found in a disturbingly wide range of foods and drinks.  Most health-conscious consumers already read labels and strenuously avoid HFCS, but mainstream America still consumes enough to make the average annual consumption about 40 lbs per year.  HFCS is in everything, foods, drinks, condiments, alcoholic mixers, candy and even many medications.

Most of the controversy centers around evidence of harmful health effects of consuming so many sugar calories in general and so much HFCS in particular.  This evidence and the de-facto emergence of an anti-HFCS movement have prompted the agribusiness interests that produce HFCS  to developing advertising campaigns to improve its image.  HFCS has been implicated as a contributing factor to the explosion in diabetes and obesity, especially among younger people.  There are significant differences between high-fructose corn syrup and other types of sugar; differences in how they ‘behave’ as sweetening ingredients in foods and drinks, differences in how they are metabolized by the body, differences in cost.   Manufacturer’s have their reasons for wanting to continue to use cheap HFCS instead of more expensive, less-controversial options. Consumers have their reasons for avoiding it.

Findings recently published in Environmental Health show that many HFCS-containing foods had detectable limits of mercury.  The significance is not so much that the mercury levels were sky high, but that HFCS - in all its 40-lbs-a-year glory - is a newly identified source of mercury.

Mercury is an recognized neurotoxin of great concern to health researchers. Mercury bio-accumulates in human tissue and is very difficult for the body to remove. So although standards have been set for acceptable limits of mercury in foods, beverages, medicines and other products, there’s really no ’safe’ level per se.  Unfortunately mercury is everywhere in the environment and already contaminates much of the food we consume, since it bio-accumulates in most of the plants and animals we eat just as it does in our bodies.  Initiatives to reduce mercury exposure have led to mercury-free alternatives in dentistry and pharmacology as well as other sources like tuna, shark and swordfish.

In the meantime, it’s always wise to limit exposure to mercury any way you can. While the ‘debate’ about HFCS (and other sugary sweeteners) will probably go on for some time,  this new evidence of a  HFCS-mercury relationship seems certain to launch a new wave of HFCS defectors. Fortunately for them, they’ll find that in the process of avoiding HFCS, they’ll end up substituting many more natural foods and drinks for mass-market HFCS-laden products.

There are already plenty of benefits ascribed to probiotic supplements, but helping you sleep isn’t usually one of them.  That’s what’s so surprising about what researchers at Osaka University, Japan, recently discovered about one type of probiotic organism. (more…)

Truvia: The New Stevia Sweetener.......

Recent press releases and news reports (including an AllStarHealth blog post) revealed that the controversial sweetener stevia herb was finally about to go mainstream as major soda manufacturers announced their intention to begin using a newly-approved sweetener called Trvuvia in low calorie drinks.   Truvia’s manufacturer makes a big deal over the fact that it’s an herbal product,  and that it’s stevia, in particular  but when you look at the ingredient label (more…)

Long before it’s talked about on the evening news, the most promising nutritional research first surfaces in peer-reviewed  scientific journals, the ones nobody but doctors, scientists or grad students read.  So once a month, AllStarHealth summarizes some of the most promising new findings in our Nutrition Research Roundup.

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Get the most of of each supplement in your regimen by taking it at the ideal time.

They say timing is everything. That’s especially true when it comes to certain nutritional supplements.  Taking a supplement at the wrong time can make a big difference in terms of the results you’ll get.  Or, it can make no difference at all.  You’ll know which is which when you’ve checked out our guide to supplement timing. (more…)

Can't really blame people for wanting to leave drugs as a last resort.

Sooner or later, most supplement users are going to find themselves talking to their doctor about the supplements they take.  Hopefully, they’ve found a physician who, at least, embraces the use of non-controversial supplements like fish oil, glucosamine and vitamin D to protect health.  Better still if the doctor is already knowledgeable and familiar with a range of supplements as some are.  But most people don’t have doctors like that. So when it comes time to talk to the doctor about the supplements a patient uses or wants to use,  the conversation usually goes nowhere.  But it doesn’t have to be that way. Even if you don’t have the most supplement-friendly doctor, if you prepare for and handle that conversation the right way, you can make your doctor a positive part of your supplement regimen, instead of an antagonist. (more…)

On days like these, get out there and get your vitamin D naturally.

It wasn’t too long ago that Vitamin D was the quintessential “B-list vitamin”.  Vitamin retailers never devoted much space to vitamin D supplements. Nutrition articles rarely covered it. Instructors never spent much time on it. No one was terribly interested in vitamin D.  (more…)

Protein shakes, maybe the single best nutritional approach to growing thicker healthier hair.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’m a 30 y.o. female and new mother. Over the last year or so, I’ve become aware that my hair is growing much slower than it did while I was in college.  It also seems to be thinner and drier and falls out more easily.  My doctor seems unconcerned, just said to make sure to keep eating enough and take my prenatal.  Believe me, I eat enough and I’ve been taking this prenatal for over a year now. There’s got to be something else? I ‘ve seen “hair vitamins” ,  should I use one of those or can you suggest any particular supplements that might help?

Thanks,

Gabriella

Malibu, CA

Dear Gabriella,

Congratulations on the new arrival!  Well, on one hand there are indeed a few nutritional supplements that ‘work’, that people have successfully used to improve the growth and condition of their hair.  On the other hand (more…)

Sugar gliders know the truth: friendly bacteria occur in most yogurt, and that's good......

By resupplying your body with “friendly” bacteria, Probiotics can be incredibly useful supplements to both keep you healthy and help you pull through a wide range of health problems.  Probiotic supplements have been around for a long time, but recent high-profile ad campaigns for probiotics in yogurt as well as food poisoning outbreaks have really taken them prime time and renewed interest in these bacterial supplements. But although probiotic supplements come in capsules and tablets just like vitamins, there are big differences between the two, so we’ve put together a guide for buying, storing and using your probiotic supplements for the best possible results. (more…)