Monthly Archives: July 2017

Dietary supplements in a variety of forms, including as vitamins, herbs or energy drinks, are often marketed to consumers as a simple solution to boost energy, induce weight loss and improve overall mood.

But new researchpublished Monday in the Journal of Medical Toxicology highlights the potential dangers of dietary supplements, which are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

In fact, researchers found that the rate of supplement-related calls to poison control centers increased by 49.3 percent between 2005 and 2012.

According to data from the National Poison Data System, there were 274,998 dietary supplement exposures called in to U.S. poison control centers thats about one call every 24 minutes.

And of those exposures, 70 percent were in children ages six and under, nearly all unintentional and accidental.

Sometimes, parents don't think of keeping dietary supplements away from their kids, because they're not medicines prescribed by the doctor. People think of them as natural, Henry Spiller, lead author of the study and director of Central Ohio Poison Control,told CNN. "But they need to be treated as if they were a medicine. Don't leave them out on the counter. Keep them out of reach."

Approximately 4.5 percent of the cases (more than 12,300) led to serious medical complications.

Most dangerous supplements

While the majority of the cases didnt require treatment at a medical facility, authors of the study warn exposures to dietary supplements yohimbe (herbal supplement promoted as male sexual performance enhancer) and energy products are considerably toxic.

Overall, the most dangerous supplements, according to the study, are yohimbe, homeopathic agents marketed to help with conditions like asthma or migraines, energy drinks and ma huang, a stimulant with ephedra that was outlawed by the FDA in 2004 after it was linked to multiple deaths.

Authors plea for FDA regulation

Because dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA, there are not robust studies done to ensure that they are efficacious or have a reliable safety profile, Jeannette Trella, managing director of the Poison Control Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and not involved with the study,told CNN. We're often going down a path of unknowns, and for possibly no benefit at all.

But the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which leads trade for the dietary supplement industry, said it is invested in providing safe products for the more than 170 million Americans who take these supplements each year.

We recommend that consumers store dietary supplement products in safe places, out of a child's reach. In addition, we recommend that consumers talk with their doctor or pediatrician about their family's supplement use, the Council said in a statement.

Still, the authors of the study call on the FDA to consider the regulation of yohimbe and energy products as the administration did for ma huang, which helped dramatically plummet calls to poison centers in2004.

Read more:

The truth about the dangers of dietary supplements - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Jacque Martin

Editors Note: This is the second in a series of articles regarding the use of supplements in high school football programs.

The FDA exists to protect the public health by regulating human/animal drugs and biologics, medical devices, tobacco products, food, cosmetics, and electronic products that emit radiation. FDA enforcement usually occurs after a product is already on the market and safety issues become apparent. The FDA doesnt review the effectiveness or safety of dietary supplements unless a supplement may contain a new ingredient not marketed in the United States. A notification must be filed with the FDA 75 days prior to the marketing of the ingredient and include information that the manufacturer or distributor of the new ingredient is reasonably safe. If safety issues occur with the new ingredient, then the FDA evaluates product safety through research and adverse event monitoring. FDA regulations require that food labels be present on most foods, including dietary supplements. Any claims on food products are required to be truthful and not misleading. Manufacturers must list the serving size and the nutrients contained in each serving in the Nutrition Panel or the Supplement Facts for dietary supplements. Nor does the FDA approve structure-function claims on dietary supplements and other foods. An example of a structure-function claim is the statement, Protein builds muscle mass. Dietary supplements must provide a disclaimer regarding structure-function claims that the claim hasnt been reviewed by the FDA. The product label must also state that the product isnt intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The Arkansas School Board Association (ASBA) provides updated school policies that are generated from educational laws passed by the Arkansas General Assembly after every legislative session so that policies are consistent across the state. School districts are required by law to electronically post all school district policies and student handbooks or to make them available in a hard copy format. Heber Springs School District Policy 4.35 Student Medications states, Unless authorized to self-administer, students are not allowed to carry any medications including over-the-counter medications or any perceived health remedy not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration while at school. This statement occurs on page 54 of the student handbook. Last December a girls volleyball coach, Deborah Clark, resigned her position from the Westside Consolidated School District when she learned that Superintendent Scott Guantt recommended termination because she sent a group text to volleyball players instructing them to mix C4 in a water bottle and consume it before the game without the knowledge of the head coach or consent from the parents. C4 contains caffeine. The documents that the Bryant News obtained from the school district state that some of the players felt shaky, unwell, and jittery and even reported their vision was effected by the drink not to mention crashing as the caffeine wore off. C4 is banned by the National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS) and the Arkansas Athletics Association (AAA). According to a DHS investigative report provided to The Sun Times, Dusty Combs admitted to providing a non-FDA regulated product, BCAA EnergyTM, to a student. Like C4, BCAA EnergyTM contains caffeine, a substance banned not only by the NFSHSA and AAA, but also by the NCAA and the NFL. Coach Combs was recommended by Superintendent Alan Stauffacher for promotion to Junior High Head Football Coach and Senior Assistant Football Coach. The School Board approved the promotion 4 to 1 with the one opposing vote coming from Judy Crowder. All members of the school board knew that DHS was investigating the allegations against Combs. In the same DHS report, the investigator wrote, Brad Reese stated that the coaches were selling the supplementsIt would appear that the school is providing work out supplements without consent of the childrens parents based on these statements. Calls were placed and messages left for Brad Reese and Dusty Combs requesting interviews and to give them an opportunity to explain the school district football program. There was no return phone call from either as of the publishing of this article. The Arkansas Athletics Association website links to the NFHS position statement on dietary supplements, which states, The NFHS SMAC strongly opposes the use of supplements by high school athletes for performance enhancement, due to the lack of published, reproducible scientific research documenting the benefits of their use and confirming no potential long-term adverse health effects with their use, particularly in the adolescent age groupIn order to discourage dietary supplement use for athletic performance: school personnel, coaches, and parents should allow for open discussion about dietary supplement use, and strongly encourage obtaining optimal nutrition through a well-balanced diet; remind athletes that no supplement is harmless or free from consequences and that there are no short cuts to improve athletic performance; and, because they are not strictly regulated, dietary supplements may contain impurities and banned substances not listed on the label. The NCAA Nutritional/Dietary Supplements Warning states: Before consuming any nutritional/dietary supplement product, review the product with the appropriate or designated athletics department staff! Dietary supplements, including vitamins and minerals, are not well regulated and may cause a positive drug test result. Student-athletes have tested positive and lost their eligibility using dietary supplements. Many dietary supplements are contaminated with banned drugs not listed on the label. Any product containing a dietary supplement ingredient is taken at your own risk [in bold]. The NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, Appendix D, Use of Supplements, states: Over the past several years, we have made a special effort to educate and warn Players about the risks involved in the use of nutritional supplements. Despite these efforts, several Players have been suspended though their positive test result may have been due to the use of a supplementAs the Policy clearly warns, supplements are not regulated or monitored by the government. This means that, even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they: (a) contain the ingredients listed on the packaging; (b) have not been tainted with prohibited substances; or (c) have the properties or effects claimed by the manufacturer or salesperson.For your own health and success in the League, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take. States are beginning to regulate and ban performance enhancing drugs and supplements in the public-school systems as well. Michigan was the first to initiate this legislation in 1999 when Act 187 prohibited public school employees and volunteers from promoting or supplying dietary supplements which carry claims of enhanced athletic performance. In October 2005, then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB37, which required any person interested in competing in high school sports to sign a pledge that they would not use performance enhancing supplements. It also banned any supplement manufacturer from sponsoring any school events. The bill established the high school coach education and training program as well as prohibiting the marketing, sale and distribution of prohibited dietary substances. Michigan passed Act 216 in 2006 in which the law requires all public school districts and academies to include in their local codes of conduct that possession or use of any National Collegiate Athletic Association banned drug is not permitted. Any student found with banned substances suffer the same penalties established by Michigan school districts for the possession/use of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs. In July 2007, Governor Rick Perry of Texas signed into law a bill that required random steroid testing of public school athletes. Any athlete who tested positive for anabolic steroids could be suspended and permanently banned from participating in athletics. Besides Texas, New Jersey and Florida also mandate steroid testing. Eight other states have passed laws for testing, but didnt mandate it, and seventeen other states have testing policies at the state or local level. There is no law in Arkansas mandating anabolic steroid testing. As the NCAA and the NFL performance enhancing policies have warned, dietary supplements may be contaminated with banned substances, putting athletes health and sports eligibility at risk.

Read more:

Laws and Policies Governing Performance Enhancing Supplements ... - Heber Springs Sun-Times

Food trends often come and go, and with them a lot of confusion about what we should and shouldnt eat for a healthy, balanced diet.

Here nutritional epidemiologist Karin Michels, professor and chair of the epidemiology department in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, in the US, gives her views on the latest diet crazes, and whether we should go Paleo, cut out carbs, add in fat, and even have that morning cup of coffee.

Low-carb diets have seen a surge in popularity in recent years.

Instead of cutting carbs out of your diet Michels advises instead replacing refined carbohydrates and sugars with whole grains such as:

She also adds that there is no good reason to avoid gluten unless youre intolerant.

By avoiding gluten you will also miss out on important nutrients and fibre that come from grain.

Fat has long been seen as the enemy to a healthy diet.

Many believe that a low-fat diet is good for the heart. However Michels disagrees.

Instead she says most people need to change the type of fat in the diet, avoiding saturated and trans fats and adding in unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats found in olive and canola oils and fish, nuts and avocados raise the bodys HDL (good) cholesterol, while saturated fats from animal and dairy products and the artificial trans fats found in margarines and cookies will raise the LDL (bad) cholesterol.

In line with recent reports she also cautions against coconut oil, which although was once assumed to be healthy, is full of saturated fat.

The popular Paleo diet advocates following the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

This means eating lots of energy-dense red meats and excluding grains.

Michels points out, We are nothing like our ancestors, instead of running around all day, most of us sit in front of our computers.

She says the best approach is a balanced diet that limits or avoids red and processed meats, which were classified as carcinogens in 2015 by the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The Paleo diet says we should eat like our ancestors, problem is, were not as active as our ancestors.

Michels says she is frequently asked about whether supplements are worth it.

The only one she strongly recommends is vitamin D.

Two-thirds of the US population especially those living in colder climates is vitamin D-deficient, and many dont realise it, she says.

The best source of vitamin is the sun, but using sunscreen to block out the suns harmful rays also blocks vitamin D production in the body.

Another source of the nutrient is from food, but as its nearly impossible to get enough from the diet, Michels says the easiest way to top up levels with supplements.

A cup of coffee used to have a bad reputation when it came to health.

Michels is in agreement with recent research, saying coffee can help lower the risk of many common diseases, including diabetes, colorectal cancer and aggressive prostate cancer subtypes. AFP Relaxnews

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The healthy food trends you love may actually be bad for your health - Star2.com