Supplements Help Prevent Chronic DiseasesFour nutritional supplements a day can promote long-term health and prevent some of the most debilitating chronic diseases, according to a new report from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Daily use of vitamin E, vitamin C, calcium, and a multivitamin with folic acid could cut people's risks of having heart attacks by 40 percent, protect vision during aging, prevent 50,000 hip fractures annually, and reduce by more than half the number of babies born every year with neural tube birth defects like spina bifida according to studies cited in the report. "We now have a substantial body of data showing that if everyone took a few supplements every day, they could significantly lower their risk of a multitude of serious diseases," said David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Heber spoke at CRN's Washington D.C. press conference on March 31 to release the report. Optimal Nutrition for Good Health: The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements is a comprehensive report on the most recent scientific data on vitamins, minerals, fiber, carotenoids, fish oils, and other nutritional supplements. Studies in the document found supplements could be helpful in protecting against a host of ailments including: * Heart Disease -- Recent epidemiological studies involving more than 100,000 people found those taking at least 100 international units (IU) of vitamin E every day reduced the risk of heart disease by 40 percent. * In a clinical trial involving people with a history of heart disease, 400-800 IU of vitamin E per day reduced the risk of new heart attacks by 75 percent. Studies indicate that more than $10 billion in heath care costs could be saved annually if people took at least 100 IU of vitamin E on a regular long-term basis. * A survey of cardiologists published in The American Journal of Cardiology revealed that 44 percent were routinely taking antioxidant vitamins. Among these supplement users, 90 percent were taking vitamin E. * A study in the February 1998 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicated that using multivitamins with folic acid lowered homocysteine levels and reduced the risk of heart disease in women by 45 percent. Another study estimated that folic acid could help avoid as many as 56,000 deaths per year due to heart disease. * Osteoporosis -- Increased calcium has been shown to be protective against bone loss and could potentially prevent 50,000 hip fractures a year, resulting in an annual health care cost savings of $2 billion. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Institute of Medicine recently increased daily calcium requirements for older adults by 50 percent to 1200 milligrams and increased vitamin D intakes by 100 percent to 10 micrograms (400 IU) following a reevaluation of evidence linking both nutrients to bone health. * Birth Defects -- Several controlled trials and numerous epidemiological studies have found that multivitamin supplements with folic acid can reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects like spina bifida. The protective effect is seen when a supplement of 0.4 milligrams is consumed in addition to the usual diet. There were 4,600 babies born in 1992 with neural tube defects, representing hospital costs of $141 million. * Vision Loss -- Several antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin may help significantly prevent or delay development of cataracts and macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. * Recent studies have shown that men and women who take supplements, including vitamins C and E, have a 50-70 percent lower risk of developing cataracts compared to people who take no supplements. * Studies demonstrate that these supplements could delay the onset of cataracts by 10 years and reduce the need for cataract operations by 50 percent resulting in a $3.5 billion annual savings in health care costs. Bolstered by this recent research on the health benefits and health care cost savings of supplements, CRN is calling on several public and private institutions to revise their nutrition guidance: * Associations that provide nutrition and disease prevention guidance, such as the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Osteoporosis Foundation, should specifically incorporate supplementation into their recommendations. * The American Medical Association should place a high priority on increasing the amount of clinical nutrition education provided in medical schools. * The Food and Nutrition Board's Daily Reference Intake (DRI) process should be fully funded to complete its evaluation of new recommendations for nutrient intake, based on the role of various nutrients in preventing disease as well as in supporting basic nutritional functions. * The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute should revise and expand its education programs to include advice about the potential benefits of supplementation with vitamin E, folic acid, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). * The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) should more fully recognize the role of nutritional supplements in the next revision of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to be published in the year 2000.  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