Thanks to the people at Tishcon, here is the weekly review of nutrition research.

• Lipoic acid (ALA) was reported to be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Of all of the reasons given for its efficacy, the ability to chelate mercury from the brain was not listed. For more information about that, go to Dr. Andrew Cutler’s website and pickup his book Amalgam Illness.
• Supplementing with vitamin C and garlic may help people with marginally high blood pressure bring it back to normal. What was interesting is that vitamin C alone did little to lower either systolic (top number) or diastolic (bottom number) and garlic only affected the systolic blood pressure. Together they worked on lowering both. The dosage for the vitamin C was 2,000 milligrams and the garlic was supplemented at 650 mg/d of bulb powder.
• Vitamin K1 along with vitamin D and calcium work synergistically in building bone density. Seems that together, these nutrients build more and denser bone than when alone.
• Curcumin – the active agent found in Turmeric – May Prevent Breast Cancer Metastases. As many of you have see, I LOVE curcumin and this is just another reason to make it a part of your everyday supplement regime.
• Probiotics have been shown to benefit the immune system in immune compromised people. If you are sick or in the hospital, get some high-potency probiotics in you.
• L-Carnitine is showing benefits in handling stress according to a study from the journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The authors of the study concluded that, “… both the 1- and 2-g doses were effective in mediating various markers of metabolic stress and of muscle soreness. Use of LCLT (L-Carnitine-L-Tartrate) appears to attenuate metabolic stress and the hypoxic chain of events leading to muscle damage after exercise.”
• In a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition it showed that increased carbohydrate intake lowers HDL (good cholesterol) and increases triglycerides. Basically put, if people were to lower their sugar and high fructose corn syrup intake, they would have a better lipid profile and they would lower their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
• The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that taking multivitamin/multimineral supplements decreased C-Reactive Protein levels by up to 43%. CRP is a known risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease along with other diseases. Yet another study showing the benefits of nutritional supplements. Do you think the mass media picked up on this one?  Of course not but if some lousy study on how nutrients are not beneficial came out, man would that ever get a big write-up.
• Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) has been the predominate nutritional supplement form for people who want to add extra D to their diet. In a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol is the only one that has shown real benefits and should be the one people supplement with.

If you want more detailed information about the studies mentioned above, go to www.vitasearch.com

Curcumin – the active agent found in Turmeric – May Prevent Breast Cancer Metastases