The French Connection

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

 

 

The French Connection

Mon, 27 Dec 2004 06:59:00 -0500

 

The French Connection

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

 

December 27, 2004

 

 

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Dear Reader,

 

" Low-dose supplements ward off cancer in men. "

 

That promising claim is the headline of a recent article from

Reuters Health. But as I was reading it over, I thought I was

having a déjà vu because the details seemed very familiar.

And then the light went on: This is a new publication of a

previously reported study.

 

In the summer of 2003, I came across an announcement from

Inserm (the French Institute of Health and Medical Research)

about an important antioxidant trial. At the time, the results

had only been posted on the Inserm web site. But now the

full study has been published in the Archives of Internal

Medicine.

 

The conclusions of this trial are so important that I'm going

to take this chance to revisit the key points. And although the

findings offer a potential course of cancer prevention for

men, we'll see why women may enjoy the same benefits.

 

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Nutrition to the MAX

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The fact that antioxidant intake is beneficial to health is

certainly not surprising news to HSI members. But when a

particularly large antioxidant study is released - that IS news.

 

Eight years ago, Inserm researchers designed a study called

SU.VI.MAX. In the U.S. that may sound like a hot new

monster car for soccer moms, but in France it's an acronym

for SUpplémentation en VItamines et Minéraux

AntioXydants. The SU.VI.MAX study evaluated the

effectiveness of antioxidant nutrition in the prevention of

cancer and cardiovascular disease. With funding from both

the French government and the private sector, the Inserm

team enlisted more than 13,000 subjects.

 

To better control the data, the researchers didn't want to

simply use dietary questionnaires - they wanted to create a

double-blind, placebo-controlled study. In other words, their

goal was to be able to accurately measure the intake of

antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Because this is

impossible to do with a large group of people over many

years, they did the next best thing: they devised this daily

regimen of dietary supplements:

 

* beta-carotene, 6 mg

* vitamin C, 120 mg

* vitamin E, 30 mg

* selenium, 100 mcg

* zinc, 20 mcg

 

The researchers stressed the fact that eating foods that

contain antioxidants will do a much better job of delivering

antioxidants than supplements can. Nevertheless, there's no

getting around the fact that what their trial turned out to be

was a test of low dosage supplements.

 

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Gender division

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The SU.VI.MAX involved more than 5,000 men (aged 45 to

60) divided into two groups; one to receive the supplements

and one to receive placebos. More than 7,800 women (aged

35 to 60) were also divided into these two groups. After

following the subjects for seven and a half years, the data

showed that among the men in the antioxidant group, there

was a 30 percent reduction of cancer rate compared to the

placebo group, and a 37 percent reduction in overall

mortality.

 

That's the impressive part. After that the picture isn't so clear.

 

For one thing, the cancer statistics between the two groups of

women were statistically insignificant. A representative of

Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (France's national cancer

center) attributed the different outcomes between the men

and the women to different metabolic profiles and the fact

that French women are more inclined to eat greater amounts

of fruits and vegetables than men are.

 

I'm not sure the difference can be explained away quite that

easily, but reports from the trial will be ongoing, so maybe

the causes of this difference will be more obvious with

further research of the data.

 

In addition, both of the male groups and both of the female

groups showed no statistical difference in rates of

cardiovascular disease. On the surface this would suggest that

the antioxidants had no preventive effect. But remember that

French citizens already have a considerably lower rate of

cardiovascular disease than Americans and other Europeans.

So a test of how antioxidant supplements affect heart disease

would almost certainly yield more striking results if; A)

researchers used higher doses of supplements, and B) if they

conducted the research in a country that has a higher rate of

heart disease.

 

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Time to eat!

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If you want to get more antioxidants in your diet, you don't

have to stick to just fruits and vegetables. Beef, poultry, fish,

cheese, and nuts are all good sources of selenium and zinc.

Egg yolks, liver and almonds are rich in vitamin E. But if you

want to tuck into the serious antioxidant levels, then, yes,

you'll need to bring on the fruits and veggies - especially the

colorful fruit and the green, leafy vegetables. Add some

asparagus, tomato, bell peppers and broccoli, and your meal

will be an antioxidant powerhouse.

 

So get out your biggest salad bowl, toss some steaks on the

grill, dice up a fruit salad, and let the antioxidants fly! And

look out for the new SU.VI.MAX hybrid, due out early

Spring.

 

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....and another thing

 

" What is perimenopause? " asks an HSI member named

Morgan. " Please don't tell me I have ANOTHER kind of

menopause to worry about! "

 

Morgan posted her question in an HSI Forum thread titled

" Hot Flashes, " and received this response from a member

named Mike: " Perimenopause is the transitional stage before

menopause. It's also known as pre-menopause. It can hit

between 35-50 and last 2 to 10 years, and I guess those

figures aren't written in stone. I would guess, like PMS, some

women are more affected by it than others, and the symptoms

vary. If your menstrual periods have stopped, you're past peri

and into the real thing. "

 

Mike knows what he's talking about.

 

A woman's hormone levels begin to decline several years

before menopause begins. These changes sometimes prompt

depression and anxiety, as well as physical symptoms such as

missed periods. All too often doctors address these symptoms

without recognizing and treating their true cause.

 

HSI Panelist Ann Louise Gittleman fully explores this

complex health issue in her book " Before the Change. " A

nutrition specialist and best-selling author, Ms. Gittleman

offers diet and exercise techniques to help control

perimenopause symptoms without using powerful drugs or

synthetic hormones. And when the symptoms of

perimenopause are treated naturally, women are often much

better equipped to cope with the worst symptoms of

menopause long before they begin.

 

You can find out more information about " Before the

Change " on this web site: fatflush.com. If you're a woman

heading into those pre-menopausal years, this book could be

your indispensable health guide through the coming decade.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

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Sources:

" The SU.VI.MAX Study – A Randomized, Placebo-

Controlled Trial of the Health Effects of Antioxidant

Vitamins and Minerals " Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol.

164, No. 21, 11/22/04, archinte.ama-assn.org

" Low-Dose Supplements Ward Off Cancer In Men "

Charnicia E. Huggins, Reuters Health, 11/22/04,

reutershealth.com

 

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