Antioxidant supplements – myth or misunderstood? New Scientist slams antioxidant supplement benefits as 'myth' Antioxidant-rich almonds on a par with fruit and vegetables CoQ10 uses and awareness in Europe and the US Antioxidant-rich soy sauce could protect against CVD Consuming antioxidant-enriched foods on a regular basis could improve immune function, and might ultimately help people live longer, if the results of a new animal study also apply to humans.
The study, by researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid and Danone Vitapole, reports that prematurely ageing mice eating an antioxidant-enriched biscuit in addition to a normal diet had improved immune system function. As the human body ages, its ability to fight infection decreases, leading to an increased risk of infectious and degenerative diseases and ultimately affecting lifespan. White blood cells (leukocytes) help the body to fight infection and between four and 11 billion cells are indicative of a healthy immune system. However, the function of white blood cells is reported to be strongly influenced by the antioxidant/oxidant balance, and ageing results in higher levels of so-called oxidative stress. As part of their normal function, leukocytes produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and, therefore, maintaining antioxidant levels of these cells is very important to sustain a healthy immune system.
While some data are available in the literature for antioxidants on markers for ageing, the researchers said that very limited data are available on the effect of supplementation of the diet with mixtures of antioxidants. To test their hypothesis that antioxidant supplementation can improve the oxidative stress levels experienced by leukocytes by ageing, the researchers randomly divided NPAM and PAM into control and experimental (supplemented groups). The experimental groups were supplemented with either five or 20 per cent of antioxidant-enriched biscuits (Danone Vitapole).
The biscuits are commercially available to consumers. After 15 weeks of eating these diets, Alvarado and her colleagues measured leukocyte functions (such as chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and natural killer activity, lymphoproliferation and interleukin-2 release), antioxidant defences, and lipid and DNA oxidative damage levels. It was found that the effect of antioxidants was more pronounced in the PAM than the NPAM group, and that 20 per cent supplementation was better than five per cent. When comparing the PAM control group and the two PAM supplemented groups, the researchers found that addition of the antioxidant-enriched biscuits to the diet of the mice was associated with significantly improved activity of the immune system.
The authors note that all the antioxidants used in the biscuits have previously been shown to have enhancing effects on different immune system function in both animals and humans. “Because the immune function is a marker of health and several of the immune parameters studied are predictors of longevity, our data strongly indicate, on the one hand, the importance of maintaining a proper regulation of redox homeostasis in immune cells to preserve their functions and, on the other hand, that the biscuits enriched with nutritional doses of several antioxidants used in the present work appear to be a functional food that allows improvement of leukocyte function through restoration of the redox balance of these cells,” concluded Alvarado.
Cystic fibrosis patients have much lower selenium status. Supplementation warranted
A German study has found that Se concentration in blood serum of 31 cystic fibrosis patients was only 58 58 mg/l, compared with controls with 102 mg/l (Michalke B 2004. Selenium speciation in human serum of cystic fibrosis patients compared to serum from healthy persons. J Chromatogr 1058(1-2): 203-208). Cystic fibrosis is known to involve high levels of oxidative stress. This may be able to be alleviated by Se supplementation.
Selenium and vitamin E are required for host protection against intestinal worm parasites
This US study using mice suggests that both Se and vitamin E are required for specific interleukin-4-related changes in intestinal physiology that promote host protection (by expelling the parasite) against the gastrointestinal nematode parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus. (Smith A, Madden KB, Yeung KJ, Zhao A, Elfrey J, Finkelman F, Levander O, Shea-Donohue T, Urban JF 2005. Deficiencies in selenium and/or vitamin E lower the resistance of mice to Heligmosomoides polygyrus infections. J Nutr 135(4): 830-834).
Chronic cough? You may need more iron
Wednesday, 24 October 2007 Julie Steenhuysen Reuters
Iron deficiency may make the throat more prone to inflammation, leading to a persistent cough Instead of cough drops, some women may need to reach for an iron supplement to treat that pesky cough, Italian researchers say. The study, presented at the scientific meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago, suggests iron deficiency may help explain why some otherwise healthy, nonsmoking women have persistent coughs. Tests on women with chronic coughs and iron deficiency show that a simple iron supplement often clears up the cough, says Dr Caterina Bucca of the University of Turin and colleagues.
Because iron helps regulate the production of proteins in the immune system that control inflammation, an iron deficiency might make the upper airway more prone to inflammation, leading to this chronic cough, Bucca reasons. She plans to study this association further, but she urges doctors who are stumped by women patients with chronic coughs to check for iron deficiency. Bucca says women are more likely than men to suffer from otherwise unexplained chronic coughs. "We put the two together," she says. "Cough is much more frequent in women and iron deficiency is very frequent in women due to pregnancy and menses." In addition, immune function can be affected by iron deficiency, which is defined as having low iron levels, sometimes to the point of anaemia.
CoQ10 may cut muscle injuries for athletes
By Stephen Daniells 05-May-2008 - Supplements of co-enzyme Q10 may reduce the occurrence of muscular injuries in athletes, suggests new research from Japan.
Levels of markers associated with increased wear and tear in the muscle, like creatine kinase and lipid peroxide, were significantly lower in elite Japanese kendo athletes after consuming co-enzyme Q10 for 20 days, compared to placebo. Researchers from University of Tsukuba, University of Tokyo, and Kobe Gakuin University report their findings in the British Journal of Nutrition. The study adds to an ever growing body of studies supporting the benefits of the coenzyme for sports nutrition. Only recently, another Japanese group reported that CoQ10 supplements may boost physical performance and reduce feelings of tiredness associated with exercise (Nutrition, doi:10.1016/j.nut.2007.12.007). CoQ10 has properties similar to vitamins, but since it is naturally synthesized in the body it is not classed as such.
With chemical structure 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-decaprenyl-1,4-benzoquinone, it is also known as ubiquinone because of its 'ubiquitous' distribution throughout the human body. The level of CoQ10 produced by the body begins to drop after the age of about 20, and the coenzyme is concentrated in the mitochondria - the 'power plants' of the cell. It plays a vital role in the production of chemical energy by participating in the production of adenosince triphosphate (ATP), the body's so-called 'energy currency'. A role beyond the mitochondria is also acknowledged, with CoQ10 acting as a potent antioxidant. The coenzyme plays an important role in preserving levels of vitamin E and vitamin C.
Multivitamins and minerals may boost mood in elderly
03-Aug-2007 - A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may improve depressive symptoms amongst the elderly, suggests a new trial from the University of Sheffield
Writing in the journal Clinical Nutrition, Salah Gariballa and Sarah Forster report that regular supplementation of hospitalised older people with multivitamins and minerals improved mental health, compared to placebo. "This trial has demonstrated that nutritional supplementation of hospitalised older people does lead to a clinically important benefit," wrote the researchers. "Widespread implementation of this strategy taking into account patients preference, life-style and socioeconomic circumstances could have a substantial economic impact and improve mental health for older people," they added. The new prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, recruited 225 hospitalised acutely ill older people (average age 75.6, average BMI 25.2 kg per sq. m) and randomly assigned them to receive either normal hospital diet plus multivitamin and mineral (MVM) supplements (providing 100 per cent of the Reference Nutrient Intakes for a healthy old person for vitamins and minerals) or normal hospital diet plus placebo for six weeks.
Depressive symptoms and cognitive function were assessed using the 15-item geriatric depression questionnaire (GDS) and abbreviated mental test questionnaire (AMT), respectively. Gariballa and Forster report that at the end of the study levels of folate and vitamin B12 in red blood cells and the plasma, respectively, increased significantly in the MVM group but decreased in the placebo group. Significant differences were also reported for symptoms of depression scores between the groups, with beneficial effects observed for patients in the supplementation group regardless of the initial level of depression of the individual, ranging from no depression to severe depression. No differences in cognitive function scores. "Improvement of micronutrient status would be the most plausible explanation for the results presented here," stated the researchers. "Many epidemiological and case-control studies have shown associations between folate and vitamin B12 deficiency and depression. "Both folate and vitamin B12 are important for the nervous system at all ages, but in older people where deficiencies are known to be common even in relatively healthy persons, low folate and vitamin B12 status affects mood, cognitive and social functions," they added.
Further study is needed to investigate these results in other populations and age groups, with the authors acknowledging that there exists "a lack of well-designed clinical trials on the effects of nutritional support on older patient's mental health." Consumer interest in mental health and the products that benefit this are on the increase. To some extent, the 'baby boom' generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) explain the increased interest in supplements for mental health and cognitive function, especially given fears over the rising incidence of Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases. Data drawn from Mintel's Global New Products Database indicates that the category has caught marketers' attention most markedly from the early 2000s onwards. Overall, the database shows up more product launches in the category in the US over the past 10 years than in Europe: 255 product lines (product variants not included) to 139. Data source: Mintel's Global New Products Database Source: Clinical Nutrition (Elsevier) Published on-line ahead of print, doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2007.06.007
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