Fwd: Vitamin Supplementation Prevents Anorexia

[Guest guest]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service <omns

Feb 9, 2008 7:55 PM

Vitamin Supplementation Prevents Anorexia

alobar

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, February 9, 2008

Vitamin Supplementation Prevents Anorexia

 

(OMNS February 9, 2008) Anorexia is primarily due to vitamin

deficiency. Approximately one in twenty teenage girls in America is

struggling with an eating disorder. Parents can help eliminate the

risk of anorexia by providing their children with vitamin supplements.

 

Anorexia is an acknowledged clinical marker of beriberi, the disease

specifically caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine). [1]

Anorexia is also commonly observed as an early symptom of pellagra

(niacin deficiency) [2] and is a known complication of scurvy, vitamin

C deficiency. [3] Prevention is especially important, because

beriberi/anorexia often does not respond well even to treatment with

high doses of thiamine for months, and sometimes does not respond at

all. [1] But as a rule, high potency vitamin supplements are an

effective cure for the loss of muscle mass caused by beriberi and the

skin lesions caused by pellagra.

 

The vitamin B1 in almost every multivitamin and B-complex vitamin pill

is either thiamine mononitrate or thiamine hydrochloride. The body's

ability to absorb these two forms of thiamine is limited [4] by the

maximum amount that can be handled by the body's two specialized

thiamine transport proteins. [5]. This means many doses per day of

oral thiamine are necessary for effective treatment. Another class of

thiamine molecules, called allithiamines, are much better absorbed.

[6] Since allithiamines are not included in standard multivitamin

preparations, we recommend their reformulation to include this

specific form of B1.

 

The conventional medical approach to eating disorders such as anorexia

typically includes psychological/behavioral treatment, medication, and

food-groups dietetics. It is surprisingly rare for physicians to link

eating disorders with vitamin deficiency, and few doctors recommend

vitamin supplements for prevention.

 

Dieting without supplementation causes vitamin deficiency, and vitamin

deficiency can lead to anorexia. Dieting is the number one cause of

vitamin/mineral deficiency in America. Deficiency is entirely

preventable with nutrition supplements. A fraction of the population

is more prone to becoming thiamine deficient while dieting due to

genetic conditions associated with proteins that bind thiamine [7,8].

The risk of thiamine deficiency is also increased by eating processed

foods. A high intake of simple carbohydrates requires increased

thiamine intake. Vitamin and mineral supplements contain no calories,

and do not cause weight loss nor weight gain. They do help promote

normal appetite.

 

Harold Foster, PhD writes:

" In both open and closed trials in sub-Saharan Africa, mixtures of

nutrients were given to HIV-positive patients, some of whom were in

the late stages of AIDS. Even just twice the US RDA of ascorbic acid

and four times the US RDA for thiamine resulted in improvements of

appetite . . . after only a few days of supplementation. "

 

Erik Paterson, MD, writes:

" Many years ago, an emaciated, teenage girl was made to come to see me

by her worried parents because of her revulsion against food. She

admitted that she hardly ate anything, but explained that she felt

that she was fat: a typical case of anorexia nervosa. I tried to

persuade her to eat right. She adamantly refused. So I made a deal

with her. I pointed out that by not eating she was making herself

malnourished with respect to vitamins. The deal was that I would not

pester her to eat if she would take vitamin pills, specifically

vitamin C and B-complex vitamins. She agreed. Two weeks later she and

her parents returned to tell me that she had developed a strong

appetite. After another month, her emaciation was clearly

disappearing. She never became anorexic again. " [9]

 

A well-formulated daily multivitamin supplement, at least 1,000 mg per

day of vitamin C, plus additional B-vitamins will greatly reduce the

incidence of anorexia and other eating disorders. If you are helping

to care for a family member with anorexia, and your physician didn't

recommend vitamin supplements, get a second opinion.

 

References:

 

[1] D. Lonsdale. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2006 March; 3(1): 49-59.

[2] S. R. Roberts. " Pellagra: Its Symptoms and Treatment, " The

American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 20, No. 11 (Aug., 1920), p 885-890.

[3] L. Goebel. http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2086.htm Last bullet

in section on physical symptoms.

[4] D. Bender. " The Nutritional Biochemistry of the Vitamins, "

Cambridge University Press, 2003, page 151.

[5] V.S. Subramanian et al. " Vitamin B1 (thiamine) uptake by human

retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells: mechanism and regulation. "

Journal of Physiology (Oxford, United Kingdom, 2006), Volume Date

2007, 582(1), 73-85.

[6] T.P.S. Nibber, " Reply to Dr. Lonsdale, " Townsend Letter for

Doctors and Patients, August-Sept. 2004.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_253-254/ai_n6176277/pg_2

[7] B.H. Robinson, N. MacKay, K. Chun, and M. Ling, " Disorders of

pyruvate carboxylase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. " Journal

of Inherited Metabolic Disorders, 19, 452-62.

[8] D. Bender, " The Nutritional Biochemistry of the Vitamins " ,

Cambridge University Press, 2003. Sections on Thiamine Responsive

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency (p 156) and on Maple Syrup disease

(p 158).

 

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

 

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to

fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

 

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit

and non-commercial informational resource.

 

Editorial Review Board:

 

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D.

Damien Downing, M.D.

Harold D. Foster, Ph.D.

Steve Hickey, Ph.D.

Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.

Bo H. Jonsson, MD, PhD

Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D.

Erik Paterson, M.D.

 

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D., Editor and contact person. Email:

omns

To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/.html