Fellow Great Americans,
From time to time a news report of vital importance to your health comes to our attention.This report is so compelling we are forwarding it to all Wholefood Farmacy distributors and customers.Taking a few minutes to read it can have a profound effect on your health.
The Washington Post Accept No Substitutes
By Katherine Tallmadge
Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Page F01
Many of us want to include nutrients, the right vitamins and minerals in our
diet. But we often don't want to eat all the foods and calories required to
get this balance. What we're looking for is a magic supplement that will give
us more energy, improve the quality and length of life and prevent the chronic
diseases of today such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
While we know that certain foods have been shown to provide these benefits,
can the right supplement do the same? Leading researchers are increasingly
convinced that while supplements can serve many positive purposes, they cannot
take the place of a well-balanced diet.
"The thousands of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals [beneficial plant
compounds] in whole foods act synergistically together to create a more powerful
effect than the sum of their parts, producing a result which cannot be recreated
by supplements," says Jeff Prince, vice president for education at the American
Institute for Cancer Research.
Over the past century, nutrition experts gained a fuller appreciation of the
need for a plant-based diet. Research began to show in the 1970s that certain
patterns of eating, beyond vitamin and mineral intake, were influencing illnesses.
By the 1980s, they found that populations that ate more fruits, vegetables
and high-fiber foods experienced lower rates of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Also, by that time, discoveries had been made that newly discovered phytochemicals
and certain vitamins and minerals acted as antioxidants and might prevent chronic
diseases such as cancer and heart disease. After all, it had been found that
people with high blood levels of two antioxidant vitamins (a form of vitamin
A called beta carotene and vitamin E) had reduced lung cancer rates. It had
also been observed that people who ate more dark-green leafy vegetables (high
in beta carotene) experienced less lung cancer, even if they smoked.
Sensing a major breakthrough, the National Institutes of Health funded one
of the biggest studies ever conducted. Known as the ATBC (Alpha-Tocopherol,
Beta Carotene) Cancer Prevention Study, published in the New England Journal
of Medicine in 1994, it tested the theory that the antioxidant vitamins beta
carotene and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) would prevent lung cancer in smokers,
the highest-risk population. After following 29,000 male smokers for six years,
the stunned researchers found "a higher incidence of lung cancer among
the men who received beta carotene supplements than among those who did not.
In fact, this trial raises the possibility that these supplements may actually
have harmful as well as beneficial effects."
Needless to say, these revelations sent shock waves through the scientific
community. "This study was a turning point in the nutrition field, especially
when multiple studies kept confirming that supplements didn't work at preventing
cancers and heart disease," says David Klurfeld, national program leader
for human nutrition at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. "People
think that we can pull out the fiber, pull out the antioxidants. But research
does not back that up. Study after study says you gain the most benefit from
whole foods."
That is not to say that supplements are of no use. They can be of great benefit,
when taken based on individualized needs. Most nutrition experts recommend
a daily multivitamin and mineral tablet for everyone. But supplements simply
can't compete with better food choices. Consider recent findings:
* When the ATBC Cancer Prevention study data was re-analyzed years later for
consumption of fruits and vegetables, researchers found that while supplements
did not prevent lung cancer, eating fruits and vegetables high in beta carotene
(e.g., carrots, sweet potatoes), lycopene (e.g.,tomatoes) and lutein/zeaxanthin
(deep-green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale) reduced lung cancer
risk.
* A diet high in cereal and vegetable fiber (35 grams versus 15 grams) reduces
the risk of colon cancer by 40 percent, according to recent findings in the
EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study.
But studies of fiber supplements have failed to find any benefits and some
have found an adverse effect.
* A diet high in fruit reduces lung cancer risk by 40 percent, also according
to new EPIC study findings. Another study found subjects with a high fruit
intake had a 44 percent lower risk of lung cancer compared with subjects eating
the least amount of fruit. But when subjects added beta-carotene supplements,
there was no benefit from the fruit.
* Men who ate 10 servings of tomato products weekly reduced their risk of prostate
cancer by 35 percent compared with men who ate fewer than 1.5 servings, according
to a Harvard Health Professional study. While the benefit is largely attributed
to the phytochemical lycopene, trials of lycopene so far have found it is less
potent than the tomato.
* A diet high in fruits and vegetables reduced stroke risk by 28 percent, and
fruit alone reduced the risk by 40 percent, according to a study published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2003. No dietary supplements
have been found that significantly reduce stroke risk.
* People who ate collard greens or spinach two to four times per week had a
46 percent decrease in risk for age-related macular degeneration (the leading
cause of blindness) compared with those who ate these vegetables less than
once per month, according to a study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association this year. No studies have found supplements prevent or
improve macular degeneration.
* People who eat more soy have a decreased risk for coronary heart disease,
breast cancer and prostate cancer. But when various components of soy foods
have been isolated and studied, these finding have not been replicated, and
some have found adverse effects.
* A diet high in antioxidant-rich foods helps prevent cardiovascular disease,
but the studies of individual antioxidant supplements have been so inconclusive
that the American Heart Association recently issued an advisory against taking
them to reduce cardiovascular disease "Researchers are working as fast
as we can to find the most effective components in foods," says Janet
Novotny, research physiologist at USDA's Human Nutrition Research Center in
Beltsville. "But so far, studies have shown that while fruits and vegetables
are associated with decreased risk of chronic disease, studies of the isolated
compounds in fruits and vegetables haven't shown an effect."
Food and dietary patterns are complicated and expensive to study, and can defy
the brightest minds and best intentions. In the meantime, the best advice is
to eat a plant-based diet with at least five to nine servings of fruits and
vegetables (you'll get the most benefit with the higher amount), at least three
to four servings of whole grains and regularly eat legumes as a side dish or
occasionally as your protein source.
Katherine Tallmadge is a Washington nutritionist and author of "Diet Simple" (Lifeline
Press, 2004). Send e-mails to her at food@washpost.com.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company