Healthy Heart

Do recent hopeful headlines about vitamin E and Alzheimers disease mean you should run out and buy vitamin E supplements? Not unless you or a loved one already has mild to moderate Alzheimers-and even then the experts are split. The latest findings, from a study of 613 mostly male veterans at 14 VA hospitals across the country, focused on slowing the progression of the disease, not preventing it in the first place.

Who hasnt wished for more energy at one time or another? Whether youre feeling the effects of hectic modern life or of aging, its only natural to sometimes think your get up and go has gotten up and gone. Little wonder, then, that food, beverage and supplement companies have filled supermarket shelves with products promising to boost energy. So-called energy drinks, introduced only 17 years ago, today represent a $12.5 billion industry. Energy bars rack up more than $700 million in annual sales. Dietary supplements promise timed-release energy, energy therapy and energy revitalization.

Already a concern for older adults who lack adequate stomach acid to extract natural vitamin B12 from food, B12 deficiency may be more widespread than previously thought. The largest study to date of the effects of popular heartburn and ulcer medications on the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency reports a potentially serious problem. The study found patients who took the most popular acid-suppressing drugs, called proton-pump inhibitors or PPIs, for more than two years were 65% more likely to be deficient in vitamin B12.

A. Samantha Salazar Ordonez, a dietetic intern at Tufts Frances Stern Nutrition Center, replies: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes that substances...

Look for the next step in the FDAs proposed crackdown on trans fats to come this spring, as the agency extended its comment period on the rule to March 8. Late last year, the FDA proposed revoking the fats status as generally recognized as safe (GRAS), which would lead to a phase-out of trans fats in most food products.

Eating a daily handful of nuts-about one ounce or three tablespoons-could reduce your risk of dying from the most common causes of death. Results from the largest study of its kind, following nearly 119,000 men and women for up to 24 years, show that regular consumers of any type of nuts were less likely to die from heart disease, cancer and lung disease or from all causes than non-nut eaters. As frequency of nut consumption went up, mortality risk dropped.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finds itself in the middle of the tussle over whether foods labeled as natural can contain genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. The Grocery Manufacturers Association is petitioning the agency to specifically authorize natural labeling on GMO products, such as those containing bioengineered corn, soy, canola or sugar. The trade association cited the proliferation of lawsuits challenging natural labeling, with 65 pending class-action cases across the country. At the same time, three federal judges presiding over such cases have asked the FDA to rule on whether GMO ingredients belong in natural foods.

Phosphorus, a mineral found in foods such as meat and milk, is important for forming bones and teeth, making proteins for healthy cells, and transporting cellular energy. But too much of a good thing can be harmful among people with kidney disease, and a new study suggests excess phosphorus consumption is associated with increased mortality risk, even in people with normal kidney function.

Youve seen the TV commercials. A daily multivitamin supports heart and breast health, boosts your immune system and protects your eyes. A smiling couple feel pretty darned smart after learning that a study showing multivitamins reduce cancer risk used the very brand shes been making him take.

If youve been popping vitamin D supplements for benefits beyond bone health-such as preventing heart disease, cancer or diabetes-its too soon to know if those pills are really doing you any good. Thats the lesson, experts say, from a sweeping new review of 290 observational studies and 172 randomized trials of vitamin D, chronic disease and mortality. Although vitamin D deficiency was associated with a variety of health problems in the observational studies, the trials in which participants were actually given extra vitamin D failed to prove a benefit.