Members
e-Letter Issue 7 (April 2009)
In This Issue
Over Half of American Adults Now Take Food Supplements
Study finds lack of sufficient levels of magnesium may increase the risk of stroke by 25 per cent.
New Study Links Breastfeeding to Reduced Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes and High Cholesterol
Over Half of American Adults Now Take Food Supplements
According to estimates by the U.S. Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID), over half of American adults now report taking dietary supplements. The DSID was established in 2004 by a number of federal agencies to assess supplement intake in the U.S. and evaluate levels of ingredients in dietary supplement products. In fact, nearly two thirds of all Americans take some type of vitamin supplement on a regular basis. An estimated $20 billion industry in annual sales worldwide, the U.S. sales in 2003 alone reached nearly $4.8 billion through all channels, including mass-market, health and natural practitioner and the Internet.
For an abstract / synopsis of the supplement sales research go to: http://www.packagedfacts.com/Nutritional-Supplements-Vitamins-977844/
Study finds lack of sufficient levels of magnesium may increase the risk of stroke by 25 per cent.
According to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, increasing levels of magnesium could decrease the risk of *(ischemic) stroke, with the effects related to magnesium’s benefits on blood pressure and for diabetics. Over 14,000 men and women aged between 45 and 64 took part in the study, and during the course of 15 years.
*ischemic - a decrease in the blood supply to a bodily organ, tissue, or part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels.
For an abstract / synopsis of the study go to: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/kwp071v1
Note: We recommend consulting with a professional natural health practitioner, qualified nutritionist or your own doctor to determine what dosage levels of vitamins are suitable for you.
New Study Links Breastfeeding to Reduced Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes and High Cholesterol
Contrary to popular American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association myths, a new and extensive study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted that women who breastfeed their babies for more than a year in their lifetime, actually end up lowering their own risk of a heart attack and stroke. Scientists from the study have now found that women who breastfeed for more than a year are 10% less likely to develop heart conditions than those who did not. Additionally, breastfeeding was also found to reduce the risk of high blood pressure by 12% and diabetes and high cholesterol by around 20%.
For full study details go to: http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/doc/lactation-and-heart-attack.pd
New Study Links Breastfeeding to Reduced Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes and High Cholesterol
The recalled products were sold in Whole Foods Market stores located in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., Wisconsin and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
For the full FDA details go to: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/wholefoods304_09.html
US and Canadian Government Review High Dose Vitamin D and Ban Vitamin D Expert Scientists and Research from Review Panel
Talk about a ludicrous set up... now, the documented benefits of taking extra vitamin D are about to receive very biased and negative high-level scientific scrutiny through a panel review conducted at the behest of the Canadian and U.S. governments. But the effort is already caught up in media and advocate controversy. The panel selected to analyze the health claims is being criticized already for not including the medical researchers whose work prompted intense scientific interest in the nutrient in the first place.
"If you were publicly in favour of vitamin D, you were not included, and I find that outrageous," said Reinhold Vieth, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, and one of Canada's leading experts on the nutrient.
In fact, the composition of the panel, which had its first meeting last week in Washington and is chaired by an authority on vitamin A, has prompted concerns that it may not settle the contentious question of whether current vitamin D recommendations need to be revised upward.
Health Canada and U.S. health authorities currently call for taking 200 to 600 international units (IU) a day, depending on age. The levels were set in 1957 mainly for the prevention of childhood rickets, a bone disease. These levels are the reason typical multivitamins contain as little as 400 IU and fortified foods, such as milk, contain even less, about 100 IU per cup. Many of the scientists conducting studies on Vitamin D found benefits from having more vitamin D and have publicly asserted that the current recommendations are woefully inadequate and that 2,000 IU daily or more may be needed for optimal health. The Canadian Cancer Society has recommended taking more; 1,000 IU daily - as a possible cancer-prevention step. Even the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends that women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should consider increasing their vitamin D intake to 2,000 international units a day to reduce the chances their children will develop such ailments as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and cancer later in life.
Come on Canadian and US WINHS members, write your representatives and the press on this farce!
For the full story go to: http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.actEditor’s Note: Let us know what kind of information you are particularly interested in learning about.
WINHS provides several distinct updates; the WINHS UPDATE: Health and Nutrition News, the WINHS UPDATE: EU Food Supplements Directive and Codex, The “Business” of Drugs update and bi-monthly WINHS newsletters. Additionally, natural health news and events, scientific research, information and documentation regarding anti-vitamin legislation from around the world are also available on the WINHS.ORG web site. There too you are able to link directly with your own government representatives, members of parliament, the Food and Drug Administration and other relevant government bodies and informational contacts. As well, we also provide links to our sponsors and many other valuable resources on our links page.
In addition to our numerous campaign programs and projects, one of our main objectives is to provide an easy to use online resource to enable anyone to quickly learn and act on situations that may threaten your continued right of access to the full range of innovative, natural and integrated solutions in your own pursuit of a higher level of sustainable nutrition and health.
Please utilize our online resources and promote them to your friends, families and associates.
What is the World Institute of Natural Health Sciences?
The World Institute of Natural Health Sciences (WINHS) is a not-for-profit, worldwide organization established to support and defend the natural and alternative health care industries; their sciences, and the individual's basic human right of access to these.
The institute, fully established in 2005, consists of scientists, medical and nutritional doctors and legal professionals, political scientists, researchers, investigators, communication specialists and a number of able-bodied volunteers.
WINHS fully supports and facilitates the individual's basic human right to make their own educated decisions and their own personal, but educated choices from all available treatments and therapies in order to maintain or restore a desirable level of sustainable health and well-being.
Further, its purpose includes the collection and synthesizing of research and technical developments from the scientific community in the fields of nutrition, foods and food supplements, minerals and herbs and the alternative and natural health industries themselves.
The Institute's programs and initiatives are of critical importance to innovative manufacturers, retailers and distributors, consumers and those practitioners who have come to rely upon innovative and complex food supplements and alternative health care practices.
Find out more about WINHS and what YOU can do to help. Simply go to our web site: http://www.winhs.org
