BOSTON – A new study found that improved nutrition could help older adults stave off memory loss. One problem, however, is that healthy foods like fresh produce and lean proteins can be expensive.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a government program that helps families in need afford healthy foods.
Researchers at Columbia University looked at more than 3,500 people 50 and older and found that those who participated in SNAP had slower rates of memory decline compared to those not enrolled in the program.
In fact, the SNAP participants had about two fewer years of cognitive aging over a 10-year period, suggesting that providing nutrition benefits to low-income adults could help slow age-related memory loss.
GlobeNewswire
Company to Rebrand as Vital Energy in 2023TULSA, OK, Dec. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Laredo Petroleum, Inc. (NYSE: LPI) ("Laredo" or the "Company") today published its 2022 ESG and Climate Risk Report, which provides a comprehensive update on key ESG initiatives across the Company, as well as newly defined emissions reduction and water recycling targets. The report and data tables are available on the "Sustainability" page of the Company’s website at www.laredopetro.com. Consistent with its go
- A new study finds that honey, unlike other sweeteners, may actually be good for cardiometabolic health.
- The benefits of honey were revealed in studies of people who ate a heavy diet containing 10% or less sugar.
- The study suggests that honey — particularly raw, monofloral honey ‚ may be a healthier replacement for sugar already being consumed, rather than additional sweetener added to one’s daily intake.
Consider replacing the sugar you consume with honey, says a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto.
For people on a healthy diet in which no more than 10% of daily calories come from sugar, honey actually provides cardiometabolic benefits.
The study is a review and meta-analysis of the effects of honey in 18 controlled feeding trials involving 1,105 predominantly healthy individuals.
Taken together, the trials showed that honey lowered fasting blood glucose (blood sugar levels on an empty stomach), total and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol, as well as a marker of fatty liver disease. They also found that honey increased markers of inflammation.
While sugars of all kinds are associated with cardiometabolic issues — and honey is 80% sugar — the study’s authors suggest that honey may be in a category of its own, and worthy of special consideration as a healthy food.
The researchers found that raw honey and monofloral honey provide the most cardiometabolic benefit.
The study appears in Nutrition Reviews.
Unlike most sweeteners, honey’s sweetening power does not come exclusively from common sugars, such as fructose and glucose.
Co-author of the study Dr. Tauseef Ahmad Khan, research associate at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada, told Medical News Today:
“Around 15% of honey is made of dozens of rare sugars — e.g., isomaltulose, kojibiose, trehalose, melezitose, etc. — which have been shown to have many physiological and metabolic benefits including improving glucose response, reducing insulin resistance, and promoting [the] growth of bacteria associated with a healthy gut.”
In addition, said Dr. Khan, honey contains much more than sugars.
This includes, he said, “many bioactive molecules, including polyphenols, flavonoids, and organic acids that have an array of pharmacological properties including antibiotic effect, anti-cancer effect, anti-obesogenic [anti-obesity] effect, protection against free radical damage and reducing inflammation, etc.”
Endocrinologist Dr. Ana Maria Kausel, who was not involved in the study, told MNT that she would nevertheless prefer the focus remain on reducing the intake of sugar.
“I think the focus should be more towards having less sugar overall in the diet. The benefits were seen after consuming an average of 40 grams for 8 weeks. This amount of sugar is more than what the body can process without involving the liver. We can see similar benefits in [cardiovascular] and metabolic risks without the sugar intake, for example, the Mediterranean diet,” she pointed out.
Honey products are frequently pasteurized — raw honey is not.
Honey is pasteurized for convenience, not safety, since the processing slows honey’s naturally occurring granulation, which can make it harder to pour out of a squeeze bottle or measure into a spoon.
Raw honey has an array of nutrients, including many antioxidants, which may diminish in quantity with pasteurization.
The current study found that raw honey had a particularly positive effect on fasting glucose.
Most honey is polyfloral, meaning that the bees that produce it collect nectar from any nectar-producing plants within a 2-to-4-mile range from their hive.
A monofloral honey is one that is derived exclusively from the bee-collected nectar of a single type of plant, or even a single plant.
Well-known monofloral honeys include Tupelo honey — from White Ogeechee Tupelo trees — clover honey, robinia honey, and French lavender honey. Each has a distinctive flavor.
The researchers found that clover and robinia monofloral honeys lowered LDL cholesterol and overall cholesterol, as well as fasting triglycerides. Clover honey also reduced fasting glucose levels.
Excessive inflammation is increasingly associated with a variety of illnesses and conditions, so the study’s finding that honey raised inflammation markers IL-6 and TNF-alpha may supply rise to some concern.
However, Dr. Khan suggested that an increase in these markers may actually indicate additional benefits.
“IL-6 may play a role in maintaining good glucose control by improving whole body metabolism of both glucose and lipids,” he said. “Similarly, TNF-alpha is an indicator of innate body immune response, so an increase with honey intake may suggest improved immunity.”
“I am interested,” said Dr. Khan, “in all natural sweeteners, and plan to look at maple syrup and, of course, agave syrup. However, there is a major difference between these syrups and honey.”
“Syrups like maple syrup and agave are directly obtained from plants, with some processing by humans using heat, and are mainly composed of common sugars like fructose, glucose, and sucrose,” he added/
As Dr. Kausel put it, “agave is natural, but it’s fructose at the end of the day.“
“High fructose concentrations,” she pointed out, “are bad for the liver, no matter what the source is. Even natural juices are harmful for the liver, despite all the vitamins and minerals they might contain.”
Still, the way honeybees make honey adds an interesting twist that make its sugars different.
“Honey,” explained Dr. Khan, “has an additional step whereby the honeybees extensively process nectar [which is mainly sucrose] from flowers with their enzymes, which results in a large variety of rare sugars being produced in honey. These rare sugars are the key to the benefits of honey sugars over other natural sugars.”
Dry fruits and nuts are packed with healthy and essential nutrients. Consuming them is also a great way to prevent cardiovascular problems as dry fruits and nuts especially help in reducing the risk of coronary heart problems. According to a recent Australian study, the intake of almonds in specific can help in cutting down and burning calories.
The research was lead by the researchers of the University of South Australia. It suggests that a handful of almonds can help in keeping a few additional kilograms of weight at bay. The researchers reveal that a snack containing just 30 to 50 grams of almonds can help in encouraging weight loss and weight management.
The study was published in the European Journal of Nutrition. It also reveals that people who eat almonds instead of an energy-equivalent carbohydrate snack, their energy consumption by 300 kilojoules at the next meal. The majority of this sum comes from fast and junk food.
Talking along the lines Dr Sharayah Carter from UniSA's Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA) shares that the research helps in providing insights into weight management.
Also read: Separation Anxiety: Why Is It Common In Children, & How To Cope With It
"The rates of overweight and obesity are one of the major public health concerns and modulating appetite through better hormonal response may cater to help the most when it comes to promoting weight management. Our research examined the hormones that help in regulating human appetite, and how nuts - specifically almonds - might contribute to appetite control. Upon analysis we found that people who ate almonds experienced changes in their appetite-regulating hormones and also that these may have contributed to reduced food intake as much as by 300kJ."
According to the study, consumption of almonds is associated with lower levels of C-peptide responses, and higher levels of glucose. It also finds that it can also produce small changes in energy level of people.
Two women each lost over 11 pounds while taking part in a study that sent electric shocks to the part of the brain linked to cravings.
Robyn Baldwin, 58, and Lena Tolly, 48, who both have obesity and binge eating disorders, tried extreme dieting and even bariatric surgery, but couldn’t keep the weight off.
But they both reportedly found success during a six-month, two-person trial in which a small implant zapped the hypothalamus to help scramble thoughts of cravings, according to the New York Times.
“I could go into the pharmacy and not even think about ice cream,” Baldwin, a self-described “chunko child,” said of breaking her bad habit of swinging past Ben & Jerry’s on the way to the drugstore.
“It’s not like I don’t think about food at all,” she added. “But I’m no longer a craving person.”
The implant reportedly even changed the women’s food preferences. Before the study, Baldwin craved sweet foods but now prefers savory ones. Tolly said she would sometimes eat peanut butter from the jar, but now she doesn’t crave it.
“It’s not self control,” Tolly said. “I make better choices.” However, she still avoids food that does not appeal to her: “I am not signing up for kale.”
The pilot study — which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine in August — was mainly conducted to make sure the implant is safe. But its promising effects were “really impressive and exciting,” said Dr. Casey Halpern, the study’s senior author and an associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in a news release.
Neither of the two patients reported any side effects from the implant, either. One of them no longer fits the criteria of having a binge-eating disorder.
However, it’s too early for doctors to link the implant with weight loss, as there could be a placebo effect from the surgery or the effect could wear off over time.
Tolly and Baldwin will keep taking part in the study for six more months while researchers look for four more people to try it out.
Carb lovers rejoice! This delectable starch, long a guilty pleasure, just might be a secret weapon when trying to “lose weight with little effort.”
Researchers have discovered the surprising health benefit of potatoes — as it turns out, these spuds are incredibly nutrient-dense and could be a crucial “part of a healthy diet,” according to a new study by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The root vegetable has long been snubbed as too starchy for people with insulin resistance, and was once thought of as a contributor to type 2 diabetes. But the tater’s bad rap might be rectified now that scientists claim it can be part of the ideal diet.
This is great news for those who loaded up on grandma’s famous mashed potatoes over Thanksgiving, or who over-indulge in carbs at holiday feasts come December and New Year’s.
Because the starch is low calorie but very filling, researchers found that filling a plate full of potatoes can contribute to a shrinking waistline.
“People tend to eat the same weight of food regardless of calorie content in order to feel full,” professor Candida Rebello, a co-author of the study, told SWNS. “By eating foods with a heavier weight that are low in calories, you can easily reduce the number of calories you consume.”
The study included 36 people between the ages of 18 and 60 who were overweight, obese or had insulin resistance. Participants were given two different diets, both high in fruits and veggies and swapped 40% of the typical American meat consumption with beans, peas or potatoes.
Beans have been touted as a diabetes superfood, as doctors once crowned the legume the best at keeping blood sugars stable — but these researchers were putting that theory to the test.
“The key aspect of our study is that we did not reduce the portion size of meals but lowered their caloric content by including potatoes,” Rebello continued. “Each participant’s meal was tailored to their personalized calorific needs, yet by replacing some meat content with potato, participants found themselves fuller, quicker and often did not even finish their meal.”
Rebello’s buzz quote: “In effect, you can lose weight with little effort.”
Potatoes contain vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, folate and fiber, which all promote health, and have also been found to have antioxidants.
The potatoes were boiled — with the skins on — then placed in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours to maximize their fiber. The spuds were then included in lunch and dinner for the participants in the form of mashed potatoes, shepherd’s pie, wedges, salad and scalloped.
Upon nutrient comparison, scientists discovered potatoes were just as healthy as beans and peas.
“We demonstrated that contrary to common belief, potatoes do not negatively impact blood glucose levels,” Rebello stated. “In fact, the individuals who participated in our study lost weight.”
The study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Food, confirmed that people can still maintain a healthy diet and indulge in some potatoes, challenging what was previously believed about the once-damned starch.
“People typically do not stick with a diet they don’t like or isn’t varied enough,” the professor continued. “The meal plans provided a variety of dishes, and we showed that a healthy eating plan can have varied options for individuals striving to eat healthy.”
Obviously carb lovers can’t only chow down on potatoes, but foregoing them altogether also isn’t necessary. In fact, potatoes are “fairy inexpensive” and are easily incorporated into everyday meals.
Dr. John Kirwan, the study’s lead investigator and the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, used the study to research the effects of food on diabetes and obesity, saying there is more to know about “complex disease” and how to solve it.
“Obesity is an incredibly complex disease that we are tackling on three different fronts: research that looks at how and why our bodies react the way they do, research that looks at individual responses to diet and physical activity, and policy-level discussions and community programs that bring our research into strategies our local and global communities can use to live healthier lives,” he said. “These new data on the impact of potatoes on our metabolism is an exciting addition to the arsenal of evidence we have to do just that.”
From the December 2022 issue of Car and Driver.
Wide, wedgy, and outrageous, the Countach wasn't the first Lamborghini, but Marcello Gandini's jaw-dropping design created the archetype the company has followed ever since. No new Countach could ever match the original in terms of the awestruck reaction that greeted the vehicle,
named for a Piedmontese expletive uttered at the concept car. Which is why Lamborghini's decision to produce a new Countach, the LPI 800-4, seemed dangerously close to heresy. The question is: Can the LPI 800-4 compare as an experience?To answer it, we drove the LPI 800-4 alongside a historic Countach from Lamborghini's own collection. This 1990 25th Anniversary Edition is the final original Countach built, and it's normally exhibited in the factory museum. With just 6000 miles, it's practically box-fresh. As the last version of the first Countach, it's the most appropriate example to match with the new car.
Park them next to each other, and the differences are at least as obvious as the similarities. The LPI 800-4 Countach sits on the Aventador's platform and shares its carbon-fiber tub. Years of evolution make it bigger in every plane. Yet there is also a visual kinship across the decades, with the LPI 800-4 clearly an homage rather than an attempted replica.
Mitja Borkert, Lamborghini's design director, was able to riff on themes from throughout the Countach's long life. There's an LP5000S-like front end (despite the absence of pop-up headlights), hexagonal wheel arches, and raised air intakes reminiscent of the mid-'80s Quattrovalvole. According to the principles of modern car design, the new Countach features better proportions and more harmonious details than the clad-and-straked 25th Anniversary. But the older car is the one you can't stop looking at.
In performance, it isn't even close to being close. The LPI 800-4 gets the brawniest version of the Aventador's magnificent 6.5-liter V-12, along with the supercapacitor hybrid system used in the Sián hypercar. The car drives like a turned-up Aventador, as the all-wheel-drive system delivers massive thrust with assurance. The closer the engine gets to its 8700-rpm limit, the angrier and more savage it becomes. While the electric motor's modest 34-hp contribution is indiscernible from the V-12's 769 horsepower, its torque does smooth the single-clutch automated manual's gear changes, which are far less brutal than in the Aventador. Like every other modern Lambo, the LPI 800-4 has selectable drive modes, with the punchiest Corsa setting making it feel impressively wieldy on the small, tight 1.3-mile Autodromo di Modena we used for photography.
By comparison, the original Countach is woeful. The cramped cockpit is uncomfortable, and all but the shortest pilots will find their head grazing the roof, even with the seat in its lowest and most reclined position. It hails from a period before ergonomic considerations in supercars, and the driving position is heavily offset toward the center of the car due to the intrusion of the front wheel well. The footwell is so packed with its three pedals that there's nowhere to put a resting clutch foot. The dogleg gearshift features a foldable tab to prevent a first-to-reverse flubbed shift; in a good indication of the cabin designers' priorities, it sits ahead of a huge ashtray.
Rated at 449 horsepower, the old car's V-12 is quieter at startup than the LPI 800-4's and idles with a carbureted wuffle. U.S. Countaches as early as '83 models got Bosch fuel injection to meet emission regs, but European models stuck with six Webers until the end. The throttle pedal is light, and response is immediate and keen. The engine pulls cleanly from low down and with impressive vigor as revs rise. It sounds great too—much softer than the newer car, with valvetrain clatter audible over the exhaust.
Yet everything else is just so much hard work. The clutch is a leg-press machine set to Lou Ferrigno. The unassisted steering is so heavy at maneuvering speeds that turning the wheel is painful. Even once the car is moving, tight corners bring it back to full Hulk weighting, and in Autodromo's tight corners, few of the apexes are even grazed, let alone clipped. Between-corner speeds are limited by stopping rather than going, and the brake pedal's mushy responses impart none of the confidence you'd want when pushing a valuable supercar on a tight track. Does it have ABS? Our chaperone, Mario Fasanetto, who started at Lamborghini in 1985 building Countach engines and today is the company's chief test driver, just laughs.
The team in Sant'Agata never designed the Countach for the track, and it shows. The car is vastly better on roads, especially fast highways from the days when European limits were either nonexistent or largely discretionary for supercar owners. The 25th Anniversary's claimed 183-mph top speed was likely just Ferrari baiting—the top speed we observed in a 1983 Countach 5000S was 160 mph. But even traveling at the lower velocities of the tamer 21st century, the Countach has the solid, planted feel you want for serious cruising pace.
Reaching a mountain road gives the modern car another chance to prove its dynamic superiority. The Strada Provinciale 26 near the Modenese village of Samone is a quiet road that combines hairpins and scenic views. It's a backdrop that draws all the local supercar makers (we've previously been here with Ferrari and Pagani, as well as Lamborghini). But the Countaches have it to themselves today. After the vein-popping workout of the 25th Anniversary model, the new car feels lighter and more agile than a V-12 Lamborghini has any right to.
The original Countach is one of those cars that is awesome both despite and because of its flaws. Justifying its divinity requires the sort of tortuous logic that corrupt medieval priests would employ to render the unholy holy, and even one of the less loved versions of this unarguable icon still offers an unforgettable experience. By contrast, the LPI 800-4 feels too good—too well-engineered and slick to be a true successor to such a flawed gem, regardless of the new car's handsome design. It's a Countach, but it will never be the Countach.
This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Lithium Carbonate MSB
HIGHLIGHTS
-
Optimisations introduced to the production process of LPI’s Maricunga lithium project exceed industry standards, with 99.92% purity battery grade lithium carbonate being produced from samples of concentrated brine.
-
Technical certification by IBZ-Salzchemie GmbH & Co, under international standards, was conducted under the supervision of GEA Messo in Germany and LPI’s experts in Chile.
-
Samples will now be sent to potential lithium buyers for analysis as part of LPI’s financing plans for mine construction at Maricunga.
SYDNEY, Australia, Nov. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Power International Limited (ASX: LPI) (“LPI” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the results from the latest optimisations introduced to the Maricunga lithium production process in January 2022 in the project’s updated Definitive Feasibility Study.
Lithium Carbonate with a 99.92%1 purity was produced from original, concentrated brine from LPI’s test evaporations ponds at Maricunga. This significantly exceeds the industry standard specifications for battery grade lithium carbonate of 99.5%.
A relevant test to measure the Loss of Ignition (“LOI”) was also conducted for 30 minutes at 500 °C, showing an LOI of 0.2%. As a result, the purity after LOI was 99.72%.
As announced in the March 2022 Quarterly Report released to ASX on 29 April 2022, concentrated brine had been sent to LPI’s technological partner GEA Messo to further test production processes.
_____________________
1 Purity after Loss of Ignition – LOI for 30 minutes at 500 °C – of 99.72%.
This work was executed by the independent certified laboratory, IBZ-Salzchemie GmbH & Co KG in Germany. This was done under the supervision of GEA, with the objective of producing up to 10kg of battery grade Li2CO3.
The chemical analysis and detailed composition of impurities was as follows:
|
Chemical Analysis: Compound |
Method |
Unit |
Sample |
|
Li2CO3 |
% |
99.92 |
|
|
Li2CO3 with LOI |
% |
99.72 |
|
|
Al |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 1 |
|
B |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 1 |
|
Ca |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
57 |
|
Cr |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 1 |
|
Cu |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 1 |
|
Fe |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
4 |
|
K |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 10 |
|
Mg |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
9.3 |
|
Na |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
500 |
|
Ni |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
< 1 |
|
Pb |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
0.83 |
|
Sr |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
2 |
|
Zn |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
1 |
|
Cl |
DIN 38405 Part 1 |
mg/kg |
125 |
|
Br |
DIN EN ISO 10304-1 2009-07 |
mg/kg |
< LoQ |
|
SO4 |
DIN EN ISO 10304-1 2009-07 |
mg/kg |
100 |
|
Si |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
12.6 |
|
Li |
DIN EN ISO 11885 E22 2009-09 |
mg/kg |
187’739 |
|
C |
EN ISO 15350 2010-08 |
mg/kg |
160’000 |
|
LOI |
30 minutes at 500 °C |
% |
0.2 |
|
Source: IBZ-Salzchemie GmbH & Co. KG |
Samples will now be sent to potential off-takers for due diligence as part of the ongoing Maricunga finance process.
Appendix 1 (Please click here to access the full ASX release with Appendix) is the formal Analysis Certificate and a visual description of the demo Lithium Carbonate provided by IBZ-Salzchemie GmbH & Co. KG. This report has been Tested internally by LPI’s Chilean team.
Lithium Power International’s Chief Executive Officer, Cristobal Garcia-Huidobro, commented:
“We are very pleased with these positive results from our latest testing activities. Not only do they confirm the high quality and consistency of our product, but also the sustainability of our process. We are confident that those results will be welcomed by potential off-takers participating in the financing process of the Maricunga project.”
For further information, please contact:
Cristobal Garcia-Huidobro – CEO; or Andrew Phillips – CFO Lithium Power International
E: info@lithiumpowerinternational.com Ph: +612 9276 1245
www.lithiumpowerinternational.com
@LithiumPowerLPI
Jane Morgan – Investor and Media Relations
+ 61 (0) 405 555 618
jm@janemorganmanagement.com.au
For U.S. and other international investor relations enquiries:
Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC
Thomas Renaud | Managing Director 42 Broadway, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10004 Office: +1 212 619-6889
enquire@arrowheadbid.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cbc5b484-5295-409a-a87f-5b91d53b03fc
CNN —
Six supplements that people commonly take for heart health don’t help lower “bad” cholesterol or Strengthen cardiovascular health, according to a study published Sunday, but statins did.
Some people believe that common dietary supplements – fish oil, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, plant sterols and red yeast rice – will lower their “bad” cholesterol. “Bad” cholesterol, known in the medical community as low-density lipoproteins or LDL, can cause the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries. The fatty deposits can block the flow of oxygen and blood that the heart needs to work and the blockage can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
For this study, which was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers compared the impact of these particular supplements to the impact of a low dose of a statin – a cholesterol-lowering medication – or a placebo, which does nothing.
Researchers made this comparison in a randomized, single-blind clinical trial that involved 190 adults with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. Study participants were ages 40 to 75, and different groups got a low-dose statin called rosuvastatin, a placebo, fish oil, cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, plant sterols or red yeast rice for 28 days.
The statin had the greatest impact and significantly lowered LDL compared with the supplements and placebo.
The average LDL reduction after 28 days on a statin was nearly 40%. The statin also had the added benefit on total cholesterol, which dropped on average by 24%, and on blood triglycerides, which dropped 19%.
None of the people who took the supplements saw any significant decrease in LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol or blood triglycerides, and their results were similar to those of people who took a placebo. While there were similar adverse events in all the groups, there were a numerically higher number of problems among those who took the plant sterols or red yeast rice.
“We designed this study because many of us have had the same experience of trying to recommend evidence-based therapies that reduce cardiovascular risks to patients and then having them say ‘no thanks, I’ll just try this supplement,’ ” said study co-author Dr. Karol Watson, professor of medicine/cardiology and co-director, UCLA Program in Preventive Cardiology. “We wanted to design a very rigid, randomized, controlled trial study to prove what we already knew and show it in a rigorous way.”
Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist and researcher at the Cleveland Clinic and a co-author on the study, said that patients often don’t know that dietary supplements aren’t tested in clinical trials. He calls these supplements “21st century snake oil.”
In the United States, the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 sharply limited the US Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate supplements. Unlike pharmaceutical products that have to be proven safe and effective for their intended use before a company can market them, the FDA doesn’t have to approve dietary supplements before they can be sold. It is only after they are on the market and are proven to be unsafe that the FDA can step in to regulate them.
“Patients believe studies have been done and that they are as effective as statins and can save them because they’re natural, but natural doesn’t mean safe and it doesn’t mean they’re effective,” Nissen said.
The study was funded via an unrestricted grant from AstraZeneca, which makes rosuvastatin. The company did not have any input on the methodology, data analysis and discussion of the clinical implications, according to the study.
The researchers acknowledged some limitations, including the study’s small demo size, and that its 28-study period might not capture the effect of supplements when used for a longer duration.
In a statement on Sunday, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the dietary supplement industry, said “supplements are not intended to replace medications or other medical treatments.”
“Dietary supplements are not intended to be quick fixes and their effects may not be revealed during the course of a study that only spans four weeks,” Andrea Wong, the group’s senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs, said in a statement.
Dr. James Cireddu, an invasive cardiologist University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute Cleveland, Ohio, said the work is going to be helpful.
“They did a nice job collecting data and looking at the outcomes,” said Cireddu, who did not work on the study. “It will probably resonate with patients. I get asked about supplements all the time. I think this does a nice job of providing evidence.”
Dr. Amit Khera, chair of the AHA Scientific Sessions programming committee, did not work on the research, but said he thought this was an important study to include in the presentations this year.
“I take care of patients every day with these exact questions. Patients always ask about the supplements in lieu of or in addition to statins,” said Khera, who is a professor and director of preventive cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “I think if you have high quality evidence and a well done study it is really critical to help inform patients about the value, or in this case the lack of value, for some of these supplements for cholesterol lowering.”
Statins have been around for more than 30 years and they’ve been studied in over 170,000 people, he said. Consistently, studies show that statins lower risk.
“The good news, we know statins work,” Khera said. “That does not mean they’re perfect. That doesn’t mean everyone needs one, but for those at higher risk, we know they work and that’s well proven. If you’re going to do something different you have to make sure it works.”
With supplements, he said he often sees misinformation online.
“I think that people are always looking for something ‘natural’ but you know there’s a lot of issues with that terminology and most important we should ask do they work? That’s what this study does,” Khera adds. “It’s important to ask, are you taking something that is proven, and if you’re doing that and it’s not, is that in lieu of proven treatment. It’s a real concern.”
