:: November 2009

Welcome to our Monthly Online Newsletter!

Highlighted Article

Is there a benefit from lycopene supplementation in men with prostate cancer? A systema tic review. (Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2009)

Clinical Guidelines

NCG - American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists medical guidelines for the clinical use of dietary supplements and nutraceuticals. (2003)

NGC - Iron ingestion: an evidence-based consensus guideline for out-of-hospital management. (2005)

Internet Sites

Featured site

NIH - Dietary Supplements: Background Information

Guide to Herbs & Supplements

NCCAM - Herbs at a Glance

NCI FACT SHEET: Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention

NIH - Annual Bibliographies of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research

NIH - Antioxidants

NIH - Dietary Supplements

NIH - Garlic

NIH - Green Tea

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Safety and vitamins

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Vitamins

NIH - NCCAM What's in the Bottle? An Introduction to Dietary Supplements

NIH - Office of Dietary Supplements

NIH - Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Fact Sheets

NIH - Vitamins and Minerals

Related Topics - Highlighted Articles

Cardiovascular: General

The role of omega-3 fatty acids in cardiac protection: an overview. ( Front Biosci. 2005) "Fish oil has historically been thought to be good for cardiovascular health; however, data have revealed a stronger cardioprotective role of fish oil in recent years. Fish oil and specifically omega-3 fatty acids exhibit cardioprotective effects by mainly improving mortality in coronary artery disease patients. This is achieved through multiple mechanisms with the antiarrhythmic mechanism being the most prominent one. Effects on sodium and calcium channels and heart rate variability are well-accepted mechanisms of how omega-3 fatty acids exercise antiarrhythmic effects."

Cancer: Prostate

Chemoprevention of prostate cancer. (Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2005) "A major advance in prevention of prostate cancer came in 2003 with the publication of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). This overview summarizes the results of that trial, the design of other large-scale trials, and advances in understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of other promising agents, including dutasteride, selenium, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, COX-2 inhibitors, lycopene, and green tea."

Selenium/cadmium ratios in human prostates: indicators of prostate cancer risk of smokers and nonsmokers, and relevance to the cancer protective effects of selenium. (Biol Trace Elem Res. 2005) "Selenium (Se) in a large-scale human supplementation trial has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of prostate cancer in elderly men. Because Se is known to interact with cadmium (Cd), it has been suggested that its cancer protective action could be attributable in part to its interaction with Cd, a toxic and suspected carcinogenic element, which is found in many foods, in drinking water, and in the environment. ? "

In this newsletter:

General Information

	General Information
Clinical aspects of coenzyme Q(10): An update. (Nutrition. 2009) Curcumin prevents free radical mediated cataractogenesis through modulations in lens calcium. (Free Radic Biol Med. 2009) Melatonin for nondippers with coronary artery disease: assessment of blood pressure profile and heart rate variability. (Hypertens Res. 2009) Oral calcium supplements do not affect the progression of aortic valve calcification or coronary artery calcification. (J Am Board Fam Med. 2009) Preconceptional Folate Supplementation Reduces Risk for Spontaneous Preterm Birth “Preconceptional supplementation was associated with a 50%–70% reduction in risk for spontaneous preterm birth.” Quercetin Reduces Inflammatory Pain: Inhibition of Oxidative Stress and Cytokine Production. (J Nat Prod. 2009) Risk of chronic low-dose selenium overexposure in humans: insights from epidemiology and biochemistry. (Rev Environ Health. 2009) “Experimental evidence from laboratory studies and veterinary medicine appears to confirm previous epidemiologic observations that selenium overexposure is associated with an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and a recent large trial indicated no beneficial effect in preventing prostate cancer. Moreover, the pro-oxidant properties of selenium species and the observation that the selenium-containing enzymes glutathione peroxidases are induced by oxidative stress imply that the increase in enzymatic activity induced by this metalloid may represent at least in part a compensatory response. Taken together, the data indicate that the upper safe limit of organic and inorganic selenium intake in humans may be lower than has been thought and that low-dose chronic overexposure to selenium may be considerably more widespread than supposed.” Soy Helps Fight Colon Cancer “The new study, conducted by Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, suggests that a component found naturally in soy could be used to help prevent colon cancer. Sphingadienes (SDs), natural lipid molecules found in soy, may be the root of soy's known benefits.” Understanding Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (Postgraduate Medicine 2009)