VITAMIN THERAPY

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VITAMIN THERAPY
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VITAMIN THERAPY

• 60 million of Americans take mineral and vitamin
  suppliments every day
• Another 60 million are occasional users
• 3 billion dollar market
• Pharmacists have been accused of passively
  advising consumers about vitamin-mineral
  suppliments

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Megadose vitamin therapy
• Treament with one or more vitamins in amounts 10
  or more times the RDA.
• Anitoxidant vitamins
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Beta carotene
• Proposed mechanism of action
• Scavening free radicals (excited oxygen molecules
  that may cause damage to DNA)

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Folic Acid
• Important suppliment in pregnancy
• Can prevent neural tube defects
• Folate levels must be adequate during the first 4
  weeks of pregnacy
• Can mask pernicious anemia

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Vitamin C
• Cataract formation Elderly patients taking 500
  mg per day had ¼ the incidence of cataracts when
  compared to those taking less than 125mg/day.
• Common Cold
• No effect on incidence
• Decreased severity of symptoms
• Decreased duration

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Vitamin C
• Cardiovascular disease
• No affect on cholesterol, HDL cholesterol or TRIG
• Hypertension
• Correlation between Vit C and BP
• No evidence that suppliments lower BP
• Cancer
• Lower incidence of GI malignancies in subjects
  who have a high intake of fruits and vegetables.
• No evidence that vitamin C is the reason

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Anitoxidant vitamins (C,E and beta carotine)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Nurses Health Study
• Decrease in CHD with higher intakes of beta
  carotine (22), vitamin E (34) and vitamin C
  (20)
• Health Professional Follow up study (men)
• Reduced incidence of CHD with increased intake of
  vitamin E
• Reduced risk of CHD in smokers and past smokers
  with increased intake of beta carotine (but not
  non-smokers)
• Vitamin C no benefit

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Anitoxidant vitamins (C,E and beta carotine)
• Cancer Prevention
• Finnish Alpha Tocopherol Beta Carotene (ATBC)
  Cancer Prevention Study
• Lung cancer no benefit but an increase
  incidence (18) in the beta carotene group
• No statistically significant benefit in the
  prevention of cancer at other sites

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VITAMIN THERAPY

• Conculsions Antioxidant vitamins
• Suppliments can help some people, may hurt others
  and have no benefit for the vast majority
• The benefit of antioxidant vitamin therapy may be
  small compared to other lifestyle changes such as
  increased exercise, no smoking, low fat and sugar
  intake, moderate or no alcohol intake and
  maintaining a healthy weight.