Our Need for Nutritional Supplements

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Our Need for Nutritional Supplements

 

 

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Vitamin Deficiency, Megadoses, and Some Supplemental

History

A letter by William Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D.

April 7,1992

(Reprinted with the kind permission of Charlotte

Kaufman)

 

My attention has been called to the cover story on

vitamins which appeared in the April 6,1992 Time

magazine. Another major article on nutrition appeared

in the March 10,1992 New York Times with the heading

on page B5 " Vitamins Win Support as Potent Agents of

Health " and on page B9 " New Support for Vitamins as

Agents of Health. " Both articles were probaby inspired

by a New York Academy of Sciences meeting held in

Arlington ,Virginia some weeks ago on the theme of

Vitamins, Nutrition and Health.

 

I will comment on the Time magazine's feature article

on Vitamins a little later. Now, I'll list the

vitamins that were first available commercially from

1934 through 1940 from Merck & Co.. More than a half

century ago I started to use these vitamins in the

successful treatment of my patients who had a variety

of health problems.

 

1934 Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C)

1937 Thiamine Hydrochloride (vitamin B 1)

1938 Nicotinic acid (niacin)

1938 Nicotinic acid amide (niacinamide)

1938 Riboflavin (vitamin B 2)

1940 Pyridoxine Hydijphlonde (vitamin B 6)

1940 Alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E)

1940 Vitamin K I

1940 Menadione (Has strong vitamin K activity)

1940 Calcium pantothenate (vitamin B 5)

 

Vitamin A and D were available before 1934, Biotin in

1943, and Beta carotene, vitamin B 12, and folic acid

soon thereafter.

 

Thus, none of these vitamins are

" Johnny-come-lately's. In over a half century, a huge

medical literature is available on the diagnosis of

vitamin deficiencies and the safe therapeutic use of

vitamins even when some were used in megadoses. Food

as food and additional vitamins, macro- and

micro-minerals supplements are often important factors

in improving the health and well being of many

millions of people in this country.

 

DIET

First of all, food and water must serve as the basis

for diets, nutrition and the support of life provided

the food can be eaten by the person, then be digested,

metabolized properly and used to run the machinery of

life, supply needed energy and provide materials for

cellular repair. However, it has never been proven

scientifically with double blind controls that food

and water alone can provide all the nutrients in

amounts that will ensure optimal long term health to

all individuals.

 

Humans display considerable biochemical individuality,

and therefore there are also differences in

nutritional needs for different people. A diet that is

healthful for a non-allergic person, may make another

person allergic to some of the components of such a

diet quite ill. Individuals foods can vary greatly in

their nutritional content at the time of purchase.

Food tables will not dependably tell you the vitamin

and mineral content of the food you are purchasing.

Simply putting vinegar on a freshly cut cole slaw

salad will cause a 53% loss of vitamin C content in an

hour. Potatoes are a good source of vitamin C. But

reconstituting dehydrated potato flakes to make mashed

potatoes and keeping this on the steam table for an

hour will eliminate all the vitamin C. Oranges and

potatoes held in storage for many months before being

sold to grocery stores will have a decreased

nutritional value. Cooking foods in a conventional

manner can cause considerable loss of both heat labile

and heat stable vitamins as well as of minerals. A

nutritionally important oil has been genetically

engineered out of soybeans to decrease spoilage which

simultaneously decreased this type of soybean's

nutritional value.

 

Now that preservation of some foods by exposure to

heavy doses of radiation is being allowed, it would

not be surprising if these foods have their

nutritional value diminished plus the possibility that

some of the molecular changes in the foods caused by

the radiation may engender toxic substances which over

time might cause ill-health. Milling wheat to make

white flour causes a 70 to 80% loss of vitamins and

minerals which, despite the so-called current

“enrichment,” leaves white bread inferior to whole

wheat bread nutritionally because the loss of vitamin

B6, vitamin E, chromium, manganese and fiber, all of

which have not been corrected by additional

supplementation.

 

DOCTORS WHO BELIEVE FOOD ALONE SUPPLIES ALL

NUTRITIONAL NEEDS

Doctors who believe that you can get all the

nourishment including vitamins and minerals you need

to sustain optimal health throughout life from food

alone can be very smug. They have the equivalent of an

orthodox religious belief: " food is everything. " They

don't have to concern themselves with the fact that

the nutritional value of foods their patient eats may

be greatly inferior to the listed nutritional values

given in food tables. They don't have to concern

themselves looking for evidences of malnutrition as

long as the patient eats food that sustains his

weight. The patient's diet may not include whole

grains or organ meats, a diet that will cause the

patient to have a chromium deficiency which deepens

over time leading to important and potentially lethal

forms of degenerative diseases which the " food is

everything " doctor will mistakenly ascribe to aging

alone These " food is everything " doctors don't have to

trouble themselves with thinking about how a patient's

health can be improved over the long term by providing

him with the additional beneficial vitamins, macro-

and micro- mineral supplements tailored to his actual

nutritional needs.

 

During the early part of World War II, GI's whose

severe wound infections were treated with penicillin

had to save all their urine so that the penicillin

which had been excreted in their urine could be

recovered and then used to treat other GI's with life

threatening wound infections. If one only considered

the penicillin that was excreted in the urine and not

the benefits that the GI had in having his infection

cured by penicillin, one could sneer that penicillin's

only function was to give the GI an expensive urine.

If one considered only the function of penicillin in

the GI's body, one would have to marvel at the miracle

of its curing a potentially lethal infection,

 

The two-liner attributed to Dr. Victor Herbert in the

Time magazine's vitamin article " We get all the

vitamins we need in our diets. Taking supplements only

gives you an expensive urine " completely overlooks the

benefits vitamin supplements can produce in our bodies

before being excreted in our urine.

 

MOST DOCTORS ARE NUTRITIONALLY ILLITERATE

The subject of nutrition is not taught well in most

medical schools. Thus, medical students, residents,

doctors, and medical faculty may not even be able to

recognize classic vitamin deficiencies. The University

of Alabama's Dr. Butterworth referred to in the Time

magazine article on vitamins, was a guest lecturer at

Yale University School of Medicine some twenty years

ago when I attended his lecture. During his talk on

the nutrition of surgical patients, Dr. Butterworth

showed a large number of color slides of a patient who

had classic pellagra and of another patient who had

classic scurvy. Not a single medical student,

resident, dietician or faculty member attending the

lecture was able to make the correct diagnosis. If

doctors fail to recognize classic vitamin these

afflicted patients cannot receive prompt life-saving

vitamin treatment. But even worse, medical students

are not taught to recognize the enormously prevalent

non-classic vitamin deficiency (and micro- and

macro-mineral deficiency) disorders which impair the

health and well being of many millions of Americans.

Unless such conditions are recognized, they cannot

receive " curative " treatment. Furthermore, such

undiagnosed non-classic vitamin (and mineral)

deficiency patients instead of being given the

" curative " vitamins (and minerals) they need, they

often are given drugs which they do not need Thus, in

addition to unneeded pharmacologic effects, they are

also exposed to the drugs' health reducing

side-effects.

 

In 1992, what do United States medical schools teach

medical students about nutrition? Marian Burros in her

column entitled " EATING WELL " which appeared in the

April 1,1992 New York Times gives a stunning answer to

this question.

 

" Only about one third of the 125 or so medical schools

require students to take courses in nutrition. And,

most of the courses are short. The one at Cornell is

eight hours.... " " The University of Alabama at

Birmingham in one of the exceptions requiring 52 hours

of nutrition education for its medical students. " ...

" The remaining two thirds of this country's medical

schools only offer elective courses. (Editor's note:

Professor Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D., D.M.D., is another

one of the persons we can thank for the superior

nutrition program at the U. of Alabama at Birmingham.)

 

" Nutrition, of course is laced through the many

departments in medical school--physiology,

gastroenterology, cardiology, biochemistry. But

students do not necessarily recognize that it can be

applied to preventive medicine. ... Dr. Young said

" All studies show that if information is not taught as

nutrition but is incorporated into other courses,

students come away not knowing that it is nutrition.

They think of it as physiology or whatever and so they

do not use it in terms of practical applications of

preventive medical care.”... In a recent survey

conducted in the southeastern region of the United

States in 1986, eighty-five percent of the medical

students were dissatisfied with the amount of medical

nutrition education and sixty percent were

dissatisfied with the quality

 

" Without question, " Dr. Weinsier said, " A greater

awareness and knowledge (of nutrition) among

physicians could well impact on the prevalence of

disease...”

 

Is it any wonder that most doctors are nutritional

illiterates? Is it any wonder why doctors who are

nutritional illiterates, often hide their lack of

nutritional knowledge under the aegis " food provides

all the nutrition a person will ever need " ?

 

For the last half century, there have been

recommendations that nutrition should be taught in

medical schools as a required course. Currently,

experts suggest that all medical schools should devote

at least 40 hours to teaching medical students

nutrition.

 

LINUS PAULING

I have had an " off and on " correspondence with Dr.

Linus Pauling for several decades. He has referred to

my use of niacinamide in the treatment of arthritis in

some of his publications on nutrition. Some years ago,

Pauling's foundation invited me to come to California

to work with Dr. Pauling on cancer research.

Unfortunately, at that time I could not make such a

move.

 

I think the three reporters who made the denigrating

statement in the Time Magazine's Vitamin article

" Certainly Linus Pauling lost much of his

Nobel-Laureate luster when he began championing

Vitamin C back in the 1970's as a panacea for

everything from the common cold to cancer " were very

remiss in not first reading and then calling attention

in their article to the important government sponsored

meeting which resulted in the following report:

 

SPECIAL COMMUNICATION:

VITAMIN C: BIOLOGIC FUNCTIONS AND RELATION TO CANCER.

SPONSORED BY NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE AND NATIONAL

INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY

DISEASES. SEPTEMBER 10-12,1990, BETHESDA, MARYLAND

 

" (T)here has been considerable public interest in the

possibility of a role of this vitamin (vitamin C) in

cancer. In order that this debate might take place in

a rigorous and informed manner, we attempted to bring

together not only the latest research on basic

actions, such as free-radical scavenging or enzyme

functions, but also some of the basic laboratory and

animal studies relating to cancer

 

" The well known anti-oxidant and free-radical

scavenging activities (of vitamin C) are discussed in

the first series of papers. Because free-radical

damage and formation of lipid peroxides are suspected

in carcinogenesis as well as cardiovascular disease,

this (vitamin C) may be important for disease

prevention

 

" Approximately half of the symposium addressed the

role of ascorbate in cancer prevention or as adjuvant

in cancer therapy, primarily in animal models. In

vitro studies included research on oncogenic

transformations and effects on the HIV virus.

Moreover, several researchers presented data that

suggest a role for ascorbate in reducing the toxicity

or improving the effectiveness of conventional

(anti-cancer) therapies. Finally, a review is

presented of all human epidemiologic studies between

vitamin C and cancer prevention. "

 

Here are a few statement's taken from Gladys Block's

abstract, EPIDEMIOLOGIC DATA ON THE ROLE OF ASCORBIC

ACID IN CANCER PREVENTION " .

 

" Approximately three-fourths of the epidemiological

studies (33 of 46) of the role of vitamin C in cancer

incidence or mortality have found statistically

significant protection effects…The evidence for a

protective effect of vitamin C or some component of

fruits is strong and consistent for cancers of the

esophagus, larynx, oral cavity and pancreas and there

is strong evidence for cancers of the stomach and

cervix….A major meta-analysis of breast cancer studies

suggests a significant protective role for vitamin C

in that cancer as well. While it is likely that

ascorbic acid, carotenoids, folate, and other factors

in fruits and vegetables act jointly, an increasingly

important role for ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in cancer

prevention would appear to be emerging. "

 

I cannot take the time to note all the titles of

abstracts that indicate vitamin C inhibits the growth

of cancer. However, to give you the flavor, I will

cite just three:

 

(1) INHIBITING EFFECT OF ASCORBIC ACID. ON THE GROWTH

OF HUMAN MAMMARY TUMOR XENOGRAFTS IN MICE,

 

(2) INHIBITION BY VITAMIN C OF INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY

OF RENAL TUMORS INDUCED BY ESTRADIOL OR DI ETHYLSTI

LBESTEROL

 

(3) REDUCED INCIDENCE AND TUMOR BURDEN IN SPONTANEOUS

MOUSE MAMMARY TUMORS AND UV--INDUCED TUMORS WITH

INCREASING ASCORBIC ACID.

 

Thus, Linus Pauling's view that Vitamin C has

important anti-cancer properties is gaining

substantial support in current laboratory and animal

experiments. Where are the people who formerly

ridiculed his ideas that vitamin C has anti-cancer

actions?

 

A word about Vitamin C for colds: In the early 1940's,

the health service of one of a mid-west University

prescribed vitamin C to relieve students' nasal

congestion associated with colds. Although Charlotte

and I go decades without having colds, we have used

250 milligram doses of vitamin C to decongested our

nasal membranes when these get congested from a

variety of allergies. However, this effect of vitamin

C has a short half-life. Thus, it needs to be given at

one and a half to two hour intervals during the day

and upon awakening during the night. This keeps the

nasal membranes decongested, reduces pain and

discomfort and prevents sinusitis. Usually, in 24

hours there is no further need to take vitamin C in

this manner.

 

THE FDA

The Time magazine article points out that the FDA are

planning to destroy the RDA (Recommend Daily

Allowance) system as a practical guide to the amounts

of various nutrients that would be required to provide

decent nutrition to infants, children and adolescents,

adult males of different ages, women of different

ages, pregnant and lactating women. According to the

article in Time magazine, the FDA plans replacing the

RDA system with the so-called Reference Daily Intake.

 

The RDI system proposes to ignore the RDA's for

different age groups and sexes. ,, " Instead of

endorsing an allotment appropriate to ravenousm fast

growing teenage males, it would simply average the

RDA's for different age groups. The new figures are

considerably lower, and are a better barometer

nutritional needs. Essentially the reflect the

requirements of adult women. " , This new system the

FDA have created slashes the RDA's of Vitamin A, B's,

C E and other nutrients from 10 to 80%. This will

allow food manufacturers to put food products on the

market legally that are much less nutritious than the

ones that now have to conform to the RDA system.

 

There is already an enormous amount of malnutrition in

this country because the large population of the poor

cannot afford decent nutrition and much of their

ill-health and lack of initiative is based on such

malnutrition. The FDA will worsen this situation with

its reduction of the RDA's.

 

One of the very important documents in the field of

nutrition, is the Bulletin of the National Research

Council Number 109 November 1943 " INADEQUTE DIETS AND

NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES IN THE UNITED STATES, THEIR

PREVALENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE, " published by the

National Research Council, National Academy of

sciences, Washington, D.C. This was the " REPORT OF THE

COMMITTEE ON DIAGNOSIS AND PATHOLOGY OF NUTRITIONAL

DEFICIENCIES. FOOD AND NUTRITION BOARD.

 

Its conclusions and recommendations are just as

applicable to today's widespread malnutrition as they

were when this report was issued

 

Items taken from the Summary and Conclusions of this

Report:

 

" All the evidence from numerous surveys over the past

ten years to the present among persons of all ages in

many localities is without exception in complete

agreement that inadequate diets are widespread in the

nation. Although an appreciable percentage of diets

failing to meet the Council's recommended dietary

allowances were more than 50 percent deficient in

amounts of several essential nutriments, most of the

diets were less than 50 percent deficient.

Accordingly, there is widespread prevalence of

moderately deficient diets.

 

" All the data from numerous surveys with new methods

among persons of all ages in many regions are entirely

in accord in showing that deficiency states are rife

throughout the nation. Relatively few are the

traditional severe acute types, Most are milder in

intensity and gradual in their course. Predominantly

they are subacute or chronic states: some marked, but

very many mild or moderate... "

 

" From this evidence it is clear that there is both a

preventive and corrective problem. On the preventive

side, it is evident that production of sufficient food

should be maintained and that effective distribution

of proper food is needed. For the latter, it would

seem advisable to give further consideration to the

program of judicious enrichment of appropriate foods

since this would add much to the guarantee of

successful nutrition. It is also evident that diet

education must be intensified and extended to the

utmost and raised to new heights of effectiveness. " ...

 

" On the corrective side, there is need for detection

and therapeutic treatment of deficiency states among

the population. For this project it is necessary to

disseminate the new diagnostic methods among the

medical and public health professions. Foremost among

the steps in this direction would be (1) preparation

of a handbook on methods of detecting deficiency

states (2) establishment of training centers for

instruction in the medical aspects of nutrition,

especially the diagnosis of deficiency states; and,

(3) introduction of adequate courses in nutrition,

particularly its clinical aspects, into medical

schools. "

 

The conditions that existed nutritionally in the

1930's and early 1940's are just about the same as

exist now in the working poor, in those on public

assistance and even in those better off economically.

The suggestions made about the need for prevention and

curative measures are just as needed today as they

were in the 1930's and 1940's.. So is the need for

adequate instruction in nutrition for every medical

student in every medical school. So is proper

nutritional enrichment of foods.

 

What the FDA is planning to destroy the RDA system of

nutritional standards and substituting an illogical

system, RDI (Reference Daily Intake) that promotes a

severe reduction of nutritional standards in a manner

which if followed would ensure a great increase in

nutritional deficiencies in the population of the

United States.

 

What is astonishing in the Time magazine article is

that leaders in nutrition make such statements " The

long term effects of high-dose supplements are still

unknown and doctors warn of dangers even in the short

term….Advises Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School

of Pubic Health: " At this time I don't take megadoses,

I'm not ruling out that in two or three years we might

change our mind. "

 

What has been known for more than a half century is

that vitamins even in properly chosen megadoses (and

macro- and micro-mineral supplements can greatly

improve the long term health and well-being of many

persons eating their ordinary diets. Some of these

older observations that vitamins can improve health

are just being rediscovered as if they were brand new

scientific findings The rediscovery of old and proven

observations can't believe their own findings, They

call their conclusions tentative, and seem afraid of

recommending vitamin megadoses that should be widely

be used in nutritional treatment.

 

If doctors want to know the long term effects of

various vitamin megadoses, they have to go back and

study the literature. Since most articles and books on

this subject cannot be found by electronic means, it

requires that they make such a literature search

manually,

 

The FDA's rejection of the three nutritional

applications (which proposed to use vitamins to treat

disease) as being premature also is part of the

anti-nutritional bias. Just think: if a nutritional

approach would delay myocardial infarctions by ten or

fifteen years. Would not this be crippling blow to the

profits of pharmaceutical companies that produce

cardiac medications and cholesterol reducing agents?

 

(My wife) Charlotte and I have taken megadoses of

vitamins (and appropriate amounts of macro-and

micro-minerals). The fact that we are alive today is

attributable to the beneficial effects of this

nutritional supplementation. Dr. Linus Pauling has

taken megadoses of vitamin C for decades.

 

One fascinating thing is that from 2 to 5% of all

hospital admissions result from severe adverse effects

from prescription drugs. Yet, doctors have no

compunction in prescribing these.