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Tag: Vitamin C

  • Watercress is the healthiest vegetable in the world

    Watercress is the healthiest vegetable in the world

    This might be news to you, but the Centers for Disease Control ranks the health benefits of vegetables and fruits on a scale of 1 to 100. If you had to guess which vegetables get high marks, I bet you’d come up with spinach or kale. But, would you believe that watercress gets a perfect score of 100 as the healthiest vegetable in the world?

    What’s interesting is that the CDC’s ranking appears to have been around for a while, with no media attention. Recently, the watercress industry has promoted the information and, all of a sudden, there are lots of stories!

    For background, the CDC has a list of what it calls “powerhouse fruits and vegetables” or PFV. These are  foods that it says are most closely tied to lower risk of chronic disease. The list includes green leafy vegetables, yellow/orange citrus, and “cruciferous” or cross-bearing (thanks to their four petals) vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

    According to the CDC, watercress is a superfood. The CDC gives it a nutrition density score of 100, based on the amount of essential vitamins and minerals it contains. After watercress comes Chinese cabbage, with a score of 91.99, and chard, with a score of 89.27.

    Beet greens, spinach, chicory and leaf lettuce also are at the top of the CDC foods-with-high-nutrient-density list with high scores, but their scores are in the  70s and 80s.

    Watercress is a leafy green that is related to kale, cabbage, mustard and radishes. It has a strong peppery taste, perhaps a bit like horseradish.It has a lot of vitamin A, potassium, and vitamin C.

    Watercress has been around for a long time. What’s interesting is that in Europe and Asia people have been eating watercress for its health benefits over many centuries.

    If you can find watercress at the supermarket, add it to your salads. Watercress with smaller leaves has a less strong taste than older watercress, which has large leaves. You can eat the younger watercress leaves raw, but you might want to quickly saute the large watercress leaves.

    What’s at the bottom of the CDC’s list, with the lowest nutrient density? While all the fruits and vegetables on the list are very healthy, the CDC says that raspberries, leeks. sweet potatos, tangerines, cranberries, grapefruit, garlic, onions, and blueberries are not powerhouse foods. Who knew?

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  • Should you take Vitamin C tablets?

    Should you take Vitamin C tablets?

    Many of my patients tell me that they are taking large doses of Vitamin C tablets to boost their immune system. If your diet is balanced, with all the food groups represented, you are likely getting enough Vitamin C without any reason to take additional tablets.

    According to the NIH, one medium orange contains more than enough vitamin C, around 117% of what you need daily. Adding oranges, grapefruits and lemons to your diet or broccoli and other fruits and vegetables that are high in Vitamin C, can help greatly. And, you can eat as much of these foods as you’d like without side effects.

    With Vitamin C supplements, in extremely high doses, there is a risk of developing kidney stones and severe diarrhea. Vitamin C supplements can potentially interact with your medications in harmful ways.  If you take iron pills or have an iron disorder, for example, a Vitamin C supplement could increase iron absorption and be really bad for you.

    What you may find hard to believe is that the scientific evidence shows that Vitamin C supplements are not as effective as you think. One reason people often take them is to prevent the common cold. The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database found that claim lacks evidence and it is possibly ineffective. Other systematic reviews of the Vitamin C supplement also show that it lacks the efficacy that the public believes it has. For example, in a systematic review of 29 studies released by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2013, Vitamin C supplements did not reduce the number of colds of participants in the studies. If you think the Vitamin C supplement keeps you from getting a cold or shortens it, think again.

    The one evidence-based reason to take Vitamin C supplements is that they can treat scurvy. Scurvy is a condition caused by an actual Vitamin C deficiency. In all of my years of practice, I have had ONE case of scurvy. You might have heard of scurvy in the past being an ailment of those sailing for long periods of time without a varied diet, but it is not limited to pirates and sailors. To read more about the history of scurvy click here.

    If you are worried about needing more Vitamin C, make sure you are eating enough Vitamin C-rich foods, including oranges, red peppers, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, oranges and grapefruit. Changing your diet could be a simple non-supplement solution. If you still have concerns, discuss them with your doctor before taking any supplements. That’s the smartest way to protect your health and to save money.

    [N.B. This post was originally published on January 10, 2017.]

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  • Should you be drinking grapefruit juice?

    Should you be drinking grapefruit juice?

    Grapefruit juice, which is filled with vitamin C and potassium, can be part of a healthy diet. But, according to the FDA, you might want to avoid drinking grapefruit juice if you are taking certain prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs to avoid harmful side effects. Speak with your doctor or pharmacist about possible interactions.
    Grapefruit juice and, more generally, citrus fruits and juices can interact with certain medications and cause harmful  and even dangerous side effects. People with high blood pressure and arrhythmia should be particularly cautious. Sometimes, a substitute medication does not cause these side effects.
    Potentially harmful interactions can occur regardless of when you eat or drink citrus products. But, dangers side effects depend on your body, the drugs you take, and how much juice you drink. Citrus products contain chemicals that can keep enzymes from doing their job in your digestive system. They therefore may not allow drugs to leave your body when they should, putting too much of the drugs in your blood and causing you harm. Or, your medicines may not remain in your body as long as they should, failing to work properly.
    A wide range of drugs can interact with citrus products in harmful ways, including statins like Zocor and Lipitor that lower cholesterol. Grapefruit juice and other citrus products can also cause harmful interactions with prescription drugs like Procardia and Adalat, which treat high blood pressure, and buspirone, which treats anxiety, and some antihistamines like Allegra.
    Of course, vitamins are important for your health and well-being. Most people can get all the vitamins they need from a healthy diet. And, you can save money avoiding vitamin supplements. There is little evidence that vitamin supplements provide the nutrients most people need. And, they too, present risks.
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  • Dietary changes may help fight allergies

    Dietary changes may help fight allergies

    What’s on your plate has a significant effect on allergies, including on how well allergy meds work for you, says says Vincent Pedre, MD, a board-certified internist and integrative physician in New York City, author of the book Happy Gut, and a former seasonal allergy sufferer himself. Nutrition is Dr. Pedre’s preferred approach to treating his allergies, in order to avoid possible drug side effects such as fatigue, sleepiness, and “feeling mentally slow,” he says.

    A dietary strategy against allergies might include subtracting some foods and nutrients and adding or increasing others. Eliminating or reducing foods such as wheat, dairy and sugar can make a difference, Dr. Pedre says. “We change the diet — a lot of times taking out dairy, for example — and spring allergy symptoms become pretty much nonexistent,” he observes. “There can be a huge improvement with the right dietary changes.”

    On the add-to-your-diet list, Dr. Pedre recommends foods rich in vitamin C (a natural antihistamine, antioxidant and immune booster), quercetin (an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory), and omega-3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatories). Foods high in vitamin C include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, bell peppers, mangoes, strawberries, oranges, pineapples, cantaloupes and peaches. Dietary sources of quercetin are apples, citrus fruits, onions, garlic, tomatoes, legumes, dark berries, green and black teas and red wine. “Vitamin C and quercetin stabilize the mast cells, which release histamine,” so you’re left with fewer allergy symptoms such as a runny nose or sneezing, Dr. Pedre explains. . . . Meanwhile, omega-3 fatty acids can be found in  . . . almonds, walnuts, avocado, ground flax and chia seeds.

    Although there are no studies to support its effectiveness, locally sourced honey — a teaspoon per day, taken for a couple of months before allergy season begins — is theoretically a natural form of immunotherapy, Dr. Pedre adds. The idea is that it delivers a small dose of pollens from the local area, the same ones that would trigger an allergic response if your body were not accustomed to them.

    This post is excerpted from Medshadow.org.

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  • Should you be taking vitamins?

    Should you be taking vitamins?

    Liz Szabo reports for the New York Times that older Americans are popping supplements like candy. Doctors may recommend certain vitamins like vitamin D and folic acid, and dozens of others are marketed widely. But, the evidence suggests that most of these supplements offer no health benefits for otherwise healthy individuals and that some ingredients in some supplements do harm. Should you be taking vitamins?

    If you are otherwise healthy, speak with your doctor. You should likely skip the vitamin pills and instead eat a balanced diet. The preponderance of independent studies on almost all supplements suggests that the benefits are at best negligible and the dangers, at times, significant. For example, the biggest studies show that  vitamin E and folic acid supplements do not promote heart health. What’s worse, the studies show that too much vitamin E can mean you are at higher risk of heart failure, prostate cancer and death from any cause.

    Still, nearly seven in ten older adults take at least one vitamin and nearly three in ten take four or more vitamins.  There appears to be a misplaced belief that you can get more of the nutrients you need from vitamin pills and that more vitamins in your system is better for your health. But, pills are generally no substitute for eating a healthy diet, some ingredients in some vitamins can cause serious health risks, and taking more vitamins can be harmful to your health.

    Before believing the “experts” and spending your money on a supplement, you might want to review the scientific evidence on www.Cochrane.org. Cochrane is a global independent network of researchers, professionals, carers, patients and people interested in health. The people at Cochrane “gather and summarize the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatments.”

    You can read the independent research findings about these vitamins on Just Care:

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  • No evidence oral beauty supplements improve skin

    No evidence oral beauty supplements improve skin

    A meta-study of research on oral beauty supplements by nutrition scientists at the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) shows no good evidence that oral beauty supplements improve the skin. As with vitamin and herbal supplements, people are wasting billions of dollars on oral beauty supplements that do not delay the skin aging process, reduce wrinkles or otherwise make them look more youthful.

    Oral beauty supplements are taken as pills, powders or drinks rather than applied topically. The researchers looked to see whether oral beauty supplements could be a defense against external harms to the skin, such as the sun, smoking, alcohol or lack of sleep. They found that these supplements, sometimes called nutraceuticals, do not reduce wrinkles or maintain elasticity in your skin.

    According to the researchers, the ingredients used in many oral beauty supplements cannot be shown to make your skin  ‘youthful’, ‘firm’ or ‘glow.” What we do know from other sources is that rather than offering benefits, several ingredients commonly found in oral supplements can be dangerous to your health and well-being. You need to watch out for 15 common ingredients in supplements that can cause serious harm.

    What’s the best oral solution to keeping your skin looking youthful? A balanced and healthy diet. You want to be sure to eat essential vitamins, including foods rich in vitamins A, C, B2, B3 and B7, and minerals, including iodine and zinc, and skip the nutraceuticals.

    To delay the skin aging process, you also want to stay out of the sun, use sunscreen when you are in the sun, not smoke, and minimize your alcohol intake.

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  • John Oliver: When should you believe the science?

    John Oliver: When should you believe the science?

    When should you believe the science? John Oliver makes a compelling case on Last Week Tonight that you should not put much faith in what the media reports on the latest scientific studies. For example, you can find numerous studies showing that tea, tomatoes, beef and eggs cure cancer and many more showing that they cause cancer.

    The solution is not to disregard the science. But you should not give too much credence to individual studies. On top of small sample sizes in many studies, public relations firms often distort study findings and oversimplify the science.

    When it comes to health questions, we recommend that you visit www.cochrane.org to keep your faith in the science. Cochrane is an independent non-profit organization that looks at as many studies as possible on a particular health topic to provide the best assessment of what we know from the science.  Check it out. 

    In the meantime, watch the video below to learn more about the flaws in studies the media reports and have a good laugh, or cry. Also, check out Just Care advice on vitamin supplements, including vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E.

    http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rnq1NpHdmw