We all know we’re supposed to eat our vegetables. But 80% of American children and adolescents and 68% of adults do not eat the minimal recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Putting two and two together, the vast majority of Americans are likely deficient in vital nutrients that help prevent disease. “A deficiency of any of the micronutrients: folic acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, niacin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, iron, or zinc, mimics radiation in damaging DNA by causing single- and double-strand breaks, oxidative lesions or both. … Micronutrient deficiency may explain, in good part, why the quarter of the population that eats the fewest fruits and vegetables has about double the cancer rate for most types of cancer when compared to the quarter with the highest intake.”1 The article goes on to say that “common micronutrient deficiencies are likely to damage DNA by the same mechanism as radiation and many chemicals” and “appear to be orders of magnitude more important.”
Furthermore, insufficient vitamin intake is a cause of chronic diseases and “we recommend that all adults take a multivitamin daily.”2 An absolutely compelling research article on long-term multivitamin use concluded “that using multivitamins for 15 years or longer may decrease colon cancer risk by 75%.”3
Research shows that omega-3 fatty acid intake can also help prevent disease. A new study in patients with coronary artery disease has uncovered an inverse association between baseline blood levels of fish oil and the rate of telomere shortening over five years, suggesting a possible explanation for the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids.4 Telomeres are the extreme ends of chromosomal DNA that shorten with age. Telomere shortening is seen as an indicator of biological aging, and telomere length has been shown to independently predict morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases, Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far (San Francisco General Hospital, CA) and colleagues explain in the January 20, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “This suggests the existence of a novel mechanism for why omega-3 fatty acids are effective in this patient population—an area that has not been well worked out previously; it suggests they could be acting through telomeres,” Farzaneh-Far told heartwire. “It’s also the first study that shows that a dietary factor may be able to slow down telomere shortening,” he observes.
In another recent study examining whether multivitamin use is associated with longer telomeres in women, the conclusion was “this study provides the first epidemiologic evidence that multivitamin use is associated with longer telomere length in women.”5 Ahead of print, another article states that multivitamin and mineral supplementation decreases oxidative stress in serum and follicular fluid of women undergoing in vitro fertilization.6 This leads to more favorable pregnancy outcomes.
So what multivitamins should you take? My advice is that they be iron-free, because iron can cause the vitamins to oxidize in the tightly bound compact form. Secondly, buy only from the following companies that allow their products to be independently tested for ingredients: Anabolic Labs, JR Carlson, DaVinci, Metabolic Maintenance, Metagenics (which I carry in my office), Physiologics and Vital Nutrients.
References
- Ames BN. DNA damage from micronutrient deficiencies is likely to be a major cause of cancer. Mutat Res 2001; 475(1-2):7-20
- Fletcher RH, Fairfield KM. Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults: clinical applications. JAMA 2002;287(23):3127-29
- Giovannucci et al. Multivitamin use, folate, and colon cancer in women in the Nurse’s Health Study. Ann Int Med 1998;129:517-524
- Farzaneh-Far R, Lin J, Epel ES, et al. Association of marine omega-3 fatty acids with telomeric aging in patients with CHD. JAMA 2010; 303:250-257.
- Qun XU et al. Multivitamin use and telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;889:1857-63
- Ozkava MO, Naziroglu M. Multivitamin and mineral supplementation modulates oxidative stress and antioxidant vitamin levels in serum and follicular fluid in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2010 Mar 11, epub ahead of print.