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FN 225: Nutrition
Noy Rathakette, Ph.D.
Health Professions Division
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
LECTURE 8B: Vitamins & Minerals- part 2; Using Supplement


FORUM: This was the most commonly missed question.  Why do you think so many students missed it? (You may see this question again on Exam 4.)


Which of the following is a TRUE statement?
  • Fat is a significant source of fuel for the muscles. 
    This was the correct answer.

  • Fat is a significant source of fuel for the brain. 
    This was an INCORRECT answer.

  • The main reason we need protein in our diet is for energy.
    This was also an INCORRECT.

  • All of the above are true statements. 
    This was     also an INCORRECT answer.

  • None of the above are true statements.
    This was     also an INCORRECT answer.



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"  That 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 and Video Clip 2 will help you fill in page 100 of your packet and will help you answer Study Question 34 on page 111.


Video Clip 1:  Supplements Part 1
approximately 10 minutes
If these movies aren't showing up on your computer, you may not have the latest version of QuickTime on your computer.  Click here to download the newest version of Quick Time.

Video Clip 2:  Supplements Part 2
approximately 8 minutes

Optional Video Clip:  1961 Radio Interview

with Beth's great-grandfather, AD Naylor,
age 100!

in western Maryland
approximately 4 minutes
It's hard to believe that the voice you'll hear is that of a 100-year-old man.  If you can't understand what he says at the very end, it's
"Stay busy and don't loaf on the job."

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 does 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.




 


Something that is an "herbal remedy" should be treated with the same respect as a prescription medication.  A friend took the above three different herbal remedies for a cold.  One is from a mushroom and the two others are from roots and below is the reaction she lived with for about a week.  She is a person who is extremely sensitive to medications.




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.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/pes03rep.html

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