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FN 225: Nutrition
Rathakette, Ph.D.
Health Professions Division
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon




LECTURE 8B: Vitamins & Minerals- part 2; Using Supplements

When considering your intake from supplements, also consider something people sometimes grab at the checkout counter.


Serving Size: 1 packet
% DV
Vitamin C 1,000 mg 1,667%
Thiamin 0.38 mg 25%
Riboflavin 0.43 mg 25%
Niacin 5 mg 25%
Vitamin B6 10 mg 500%
Folic Acid 12.5 mcg 3%
Vitamin B12 25 mcg 417%
Pantothenic Acid 2.5 mg 25%
Calcium 50 mg 5%
Magnesium 60 mg 15%
Zinc 2 mg 13%
Manganese 0.5 mg 25%
Chromium 10 mg 8%
Sodium 60 mg 3%
Potassium 200 mg 6%



Alpha Lipoic Acid 1 mg no DV
Quercetin 1 mg no DV


The front of the above packet says it has "32 mineral complexes"  Many minerals aren't listed in the above table.  That's because some of the minerals have multiple "complexes" listed on the label.  

For example the calcium in it is
calcium carbonate,
calcium phosphate and
calcium pantothenate.

You can click see on this to see a larger image.



Sometimes another source of supplements is a beverage.  Below is a 20-ounce bottle of a Glaceau-brand product called "Vitamin Water".  

Notice that the first column of the Nutrition Facts is given for an 8-ounce serving.  

The secomd column of the Nutrition Facts is for the whole bottle.


 


Video Clip 1:  Supplements Part 1
approximately 10 minutes


Video Clip 1:  Supplements Part 2
approximately 8 minutes
Some other guidelines NOT mentioned in the video clip, but I feel are important to add:

    5.  Don’t let nutrient levels exceed the Upper Intake Level.

6.     Get phytochemicals from foods, not supplements. Research has shown that phytochemicals have benefits when you get them from foods, not supplements, and may even be harmful from supplements.  So this goes back to guideline #4, keep formulations simple.

7.      Look for the USP label when purchasing a supplement.  This means that the manufacturer has paid an outside agency to test the product to affirm it contains the nutrients stated, and that it will dissolve.

 


Vitamin D is the nutrient very often in the news these days.  Many nutrition experts feel that the RDA for vitamin D is too low and that large doses from supplements seem safe.  But in the following article, Canadian researcher Dr. Pamela Goodwin gives a warning.  Vitamin D may help battle breast cancer, By Marilynn Marchione, The Associated Press, in The Eugene Register-Guard, May 16, 2008.

Part of what this article says is:
"The Canadian researchers wanted to see whether it made a difference in survival. They took blood from 512 women at three University of Toronto hospitals between 1989 and 1995, when the women were first diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

"A decade later, 83 percent of those who had had adequate vitamin D blood levels were alive without extensive spread of their cancer, versus 79 percent of those whose vitamin D levels were insufficient and 69 percent of those who were deficient, as defined by widely used medical standards for measuring intake.

"One red flag: The few women with the very highest levels of vitamin D seemed to have worse survival.

"Though the study was too small and those results were not conclusive, 'there may be an optimal level of vitamin D in women with breast cancer and it may be possible to take too much,' Goodwin said."

When this prescription for Fosamax was refilled, it contained added Vitamin D, when it didn't have it before.  The label says it has 70 mcg (μg) of vitamin D, which is the same thing as 2800 IU, a previous form of measurement.  Since just 1 tablet is taken each week, that much divided by 7 days would be 10 μg.   Page C at the beginning of our text list a Tolerable Upper Intake Level for vitamin D as 50 μg.




Many supplements may not contain the best form (D-3) and may therefore have only a modest effect on blood levels of the nutrient.  But the insert for this medication says this:

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In the second Video clip, a student asks a question about "food-based" vitamins.  The December, 2007, issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter estimated that a serving of fruit or vegetable (for example 1/2 cup broccoli) would fill some 15 capsules.

The label for this HERBALIFE-brand supplement says that taken 3 times daily “Garden 7 provides the phytonutrients equivalent to 7 servings of fruits and vegetables”.

Notice on the label below that it does have vegetables (like 133.3 mg "carrot powder" in 1 tablet).  It would take about 30 of the tablets to get 1 TEASPOON of carrot powder.

Most of the "phytonutrients" in the tablets come from individual additives like lycopene and lutein, which may be coming from other countries.  

As you learned in chapter 2, one serving of a vegetable like broccoli may have 100 different phytochemicals.




 
A few concluding tidbits about nutritional supplements:

In 2004, F.D.A. discovered an illegal pesticide residue in ginseng.
FDA and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/Pesticides/ResidueMonitoringReports/ucm116752.htm

In 2006, the F.D.A. found supplements that were "significantly subpotent" in vitamins A & C & folic acid.

And the active ingredient from medicine for erectile dysfunction was found in some supplements.

In June 2007, the F.D.A. announced new regulations requiring that "dietary supplements are manufactured consistently as to identity, purity, strength, and composition." The regulations also require the reporting of adverse events.


END OF LECTURE 8B