Berries for Your Health: Winter Edition

by Dr. Mark Lange

It’s slim picking in the fresh fruit aisle this time of year.  It may appear well-stocked, but many of the berries you see on supermarket shelves are imported from other continents and are sad, tasteless forms of their summertime selves.

While citrus fruits and bananas are great alternatives in the winter, they lack the health benefits of deep-colored berries.  Those red, blue and purple pigments have health benefits because they contain anthocyanins – natural antioxidants that maintain proper eye function, limit cellular oxidative DNA damage and decrease platelet aggregation. 

There is accumulating evidence that much of the health-promoting potential of berries comes from these phytochemicals, bioactive compounds not designated as traditional nutrients. There is much evidence that dietary consumption of anthocyanin pigments and polyphenolics have preventative and therapeutic roles in a number of human diseases.  A number of studies show an inverse relationship between intake of flavonoids in the diet and mortality from coronary heart disease.  The anthocyanin pigments of bilberry have long been used from improving visual acuity and treating circulatory disorders.

Women who eat about two servings of strawberries or one serving of blueberries a week experienced less mental decline over time than women who did not, according to research published in the Annals of Neurology.  The positive effect is attributed to the anthocyanidins, compounds known to cross the blood-brain barrier and locate in the learning and memory centers of the brain.

Eating berries twice a week reduces the chance of developing Parkinson’s disease by 25 percent, according to research published in the journal Neurology.  The same research showed that men with the highest intake of flavonoids reduced their risk by 40 percent.

Dietitians and physicians now recognize that a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruit helps to keep blood pressure within normal ranges.  Berries also help fight systemic inflammation, a risk factor associated with heart attack and stroke.  Results published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases showed a 22 percent reduction in C-reactive protein with anthocyanin supplementation.

During the winter months when berries and other fruits high in anthocyanin content are unavailable, like cherries and plums, supplementation can be an excellent source of the beneficial components found fresh fruit.  In particular, look for dietary  supplements containing concentrated extracts of  bilberry, grape, acai, pomegranate, black current and elderberry.

Of course, a supplement will not replace the nutritional value of whole berries, but adding anthocyanin-containing supplements to your daily regiment may offer complementary health benefits year-round.

Osteoporosis & Keeping Your Bones Healthy

By: Dr. Robert M. Blair, Ph.D.

Osteoporosis literally means “porous bone” and is a disease of the bones where we make too little bone, lose too much bone or a combination of the two, resulting in less dense, weaker bones.

According to the National Osteoporosis Society, one in every two women and one in every five men over the age of 50 in the United Kingdom will fracture a bone due to osteoporosis.  The statistics indicate that about 300,000 fractures due to bone fragility will occur each year in the UK and 1,150 people die every month as a result of hip fractures. Overall, it is estimated that about three million people in the UK have osteoporosis.

Keeping our bones healthy is a vital part of healthy aging.  While some of the risk factors for osteoporosis are beyond our control (e.g. age, sex, menopause and family history), there are a number of things we can do to support healthier bones.

Get Plenty of Exercise

A recent review paper reported that physical activity may stimulate bone formation and thus increase bone mineral density and bone strength, reducing one’s risk for fracture.  In postmenopausal women, both impact and non-impact exercises were shown to have benefits for spinal bone mass. Another study reported that impact exercise regimens that combines jogging, walking and stair climbing and exercise programs that combine impact exercises with resistance exercise both help reduce postmenopausal bone loss at the hip and spine.  TheNational Osteoporosis Foundation recommends 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercises (walking, jogging, etc.) most days of the week, muscle-strengthening exercises two to three days each week, and balance or functional exercise as often as needed.

Eat Healthy

Adopting a healthy, balance diet is a good way to get all or most of the vitamins and minerals you need to support good bone health.  The Food Standards Agency advises that a healthy balanced diet has:

• At least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables every day
• Plenty of starchy foods (whole grain whenever possible)
• Some milk and dairy foods
• Some non-dairy sources of protein (meat, fish, eggs, beans, etc.)
• Only a small amount of food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

Dairy products, fish, vegetables, beans & seeds, cereal products, and fortified foods can be good sources of calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K, vitamins and mineral important for good bone health.

Dietary Supplements

While a healthy, well-balanced diet might be the ideal way to get all the vitamin and minerals we need to support healthy bones and reduce one’s risk for osteoporosis, many of us don’t eat a healthy, well-balanced diet due to today’s hectic, stress-filled lifestyles.  Dietary supplements make an effective and convenient way to ensure we get the vitamins and minerals we need for good bone health.  Some of the key vitamins and minerals for healthy bones include calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K2 and magnesium.

Calcium… According to the National Osteoporosis Society, 70% of our bone is made up of calcium compounds.  According to the National Institutes of Health, adequate intake of calcium throughout life is essential for good bone health and inadequate calcium intake can lead to osteoporosis.  In addition to supporting the structure of the bone, calcium has multiple roles in bone function and metabolism.  In the United Kingdom, the recommended calcium intake for most people is 800 mg daily. Calcium-rich foods like leafy green vegetables, sardines and salmon (canned with bones), dairy products, and fortified foods are all good choices for getting the calcium you need.  Calcium supplements are also a good way to meet your daily calcium requirements.  This is particularly true if it is difficult to get what you need from your regular diet.

Vitamin D… Vitamin D is needed for the normal absorption of calcium and deficiencies in vitamin D intake lead to the bone diseases rickets, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis. Several studies have demonstrated that adequate vitamin D levels help reduce the incidence of falls and fractures.  These studies have reported that daily supplementation with 700 IU/day vitamin D reduced the risk of falls by about 22% and supplementation with 400 IU/dayreduced the risk of non-vertebral fractures by more than 20%.  Vitamin D is not naturally found in many foods; therefore, sunlight exposure remains our major source of vitamin D.  Getting adequate exposure to sunlight, consuming vitamin D – fortified foods and taking a good vitamin D supplement all important ways to ensure you get adequate amounts of vitamin D.  In the United Kingdom, it is recommended that people 65 years of age and older and people not exposed too much sunlight should take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D.

Vitamin K2…  Vitamin K2 is a fat soluble vitamin that directs calcium to where it is needed (bones and blood) and away from where it is not needed (soft tissue and arteries). Vitamin K2 supports bone retention through the synthesis of proteins involved with calcium utilization. Vitamin K2 also works as a co-factor in the carboxylation of a few key calcium-binding proteins, including osteocalcin. A combination of vitamin K2 with vitamin D has been reported to support bone health in postmenopausal women.  While there are two main forms of vitamin K (K1 and K2), vitamin K2 is considered to be the most active form.  Vitamin K2 is not abundant in most foods, thus supplementation is typically the easiest way to get the vitamin K2 needed to support healthy bones.

Magnesium… A recent review of the scientific literature clearly shows the importance ofmagnesium for good bone health.  According to this review, over half of the magnesium in our body is stored in bone and magnesium deficiency is associated with bone density and osteoporosis.  One recent study suggested that low serum magnesium levels may be a co-contributing factor in causing low bone mineral density. Additionally, women with low bone mineral density have been reported to have low magnesium levels in addition to low levels of calcium.  Supplementation with magnesium can help maintain adequate serum levels of magnesium and support healthy bones.

Osteoporosis is a silent disease that often isn’t diagnosed until we fracture a bone.  This makes it essential to develop healthy lifestyle habits that reduce one’s chance of developing osteoporosis.  Eating right, getting plenty of exercise, and supplementing with key micronutrients are all important factors in developing a plan of prevention.

Report: Supplements Could Save Billions in Health Care Costs

by Dr. Mark Lange

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately three quarters of total U.S. health care expenditures are spent on preventable diseases, including such conditions as coronary heart disease, diabetes, age-related eye disease, and osteoporosis, but only three percent (3%) of health care expenditures are invested in disease prevention programs.

Although the U.S. health care system does not have as strong an emphasis on preventive medicine as other Western countries, many observers predict that the United States is in the midst of a slow revolution of its health care model—transitioning to a model that is more focused on maintaining individual and overall health and wellness as opposed to a continued reactive approach focused on single-event interventions.

Most Americans are aware of the challenges facing the country’s health care system: escalating costs, denied tests and treatments, fragmented care, less time available for a patient-physician relationship, medical errors and inefficiencies, and the new health insurance marketplace.

However, important cultural, technological, and demographic trends are increasingly putting more control into the hands of patients to directly manage their health. This transformation has enormous potential to change how medicine is practiced and how the health care system, as a whole, operates.

This report demonstrates that significant cost savings can be realized by health care payers, such as insurance companies, and consumers through the use of dietary supplements that have a demonstrable and substantial effect on the risk of costly disease-related events among targeted high-risk populations.

Specifically, this report examines evidence showing that the usage of key dietary supplements can reduce overall disease treatment-related hospital utilization costs associated with heart disease, age-related eye disease, diabetes, and bone disease in the United States among those at a high risk of experiencing a costly, disease-related event.

Thus, targeted dietary supplementation regimens are recommended as a means to help control rising societal health care costs, and as a means for high-risk individuals to minimize the chance of having to deal with potentially costly events and to invest in increased quality of life.

The key findings of the potential for health care cost savings when high risk US adults aged 55 and older and diagnosed with these chronic diseases, used one of eight different supplement regimens at preventative intake levels:

Calcium plus vitamin D in women with osteoporosis.  The potential net savings would be $1.25 billion.

Magnesium for osteoprorosis.  The potential net savings would be $593 million.

Lutein and zeaxanthin for age-related eye diseases, included age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.  These supplements are reported to reduce the risk of these diseases by 23%, which would offer potential savings of $930 million.

Omega-3s for coronary heart disease (CHD).  CHD currently costs the United States $78 billion, and with omega-3s offering a relative risk reduction of 6.9%, the overall net potential savings would be $930 million.

B vitamins for CHD.  Scientific literature suggests that B vitamins may offer a relative risk reduction of 3.3%, which gives a potential $560 million in net savings.

Psyllium dietary fiber for CHD.  Psyllium supplements offer an 11.5% relative risk reduction, which would provide $2.3 billion in savings.

Phytosterols for CHD.  Phytosterols offer an 11.2% relative risk reduction, which would give $3.3 billion in savings.

Chromium picolinate for potential diabetes-attributed CHD costs.  Chromium picolinate offers a potential cost savings of $970 million.

Chronic diseases affect millions of people’s quality of life.  Dietary supplements can play an important role in prevention of diseases, along with adopting lifestyle practices known to favor better health.  This report is good news for health care practitioners, insurance companies and patients because it supports the position that certain dietary supplements have the potential to reduce medical costs associate with some diseases.