Category Archives: Food Supplements

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

By Tim CutcliffeTim Cutcliffe , 25-Jul-20172017-07-25T00:00:00Z Last updated on 25-Jul-2017 at 17:53 GMT2017-07-25T17:53:17Z

Low levels of maternal iodine may be linked to reduced brain development at age three, a new study has suggested.

The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition,was a collaboration between the Norwegian institute of Public Health, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences and TINE SA and used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBA).

They found that children whose mothers had low dietary iodine intakes during pregnancy were more likely to experience various symptoms of impaired brain development.

Maternal iodine intake below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) during pregnancy was associated with symptoms of child language delay, behaviour problems, and reduced fine motor skills at 3 y of age, concluded lead author Marianne Abel from the Research and Development department of TINE SA.

In the main analysis, the study evaluated iodine intake solely from food. Participants were divided into those consuming either less than, or more than 160 micrograms per day (ug/d), the EAR recommended by the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine)

The study also observed a dose response relationship between maternal iodine intake and behavioural problems, with odds ratio for this outcome rising particularly steeply for dietary intakes below 100 ug/d.

The results of this study emphasize the urgent need for preventing inadequate iodine intake in women of childbearing age to secure optimal brain development in children, recommended Abel.

The team also carried out separate analysis on mothers taking iodine supplements of up to 200 ug/d.

The results showed no evidence of a protective effect of iodine supplementation during pregnancy, commented the researchers.

For mothers in the low intake group (<160 ug/d), supplementation was linked to negative effects.

In those reporting first use in gestational weeks 012, supplement use was associated with an increased risk of externalising behaviour problems, reported the researchers.

Similarly, starting supplementation in the second trimester was linked to a higher risk of internalising behaviour problems.

The study authors speculated on various possible reasons for the lack of beneficial, and potentially harmful, effects of supplementation.

Initiating supplement use during pregnancy might be too late and may also provide less iodine than needed to compensate for the effects of a depleted iodine store on thyroid function, they suggested.

A sudden increase in iodine intake [from supplements], although modest and within the recommendations, might also lead to a stunning effect, with transient inhibition of maternal or foetal thyroid hormone production.

In the study, researchers used iodine consumption calculated from a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) (specifically designed for MoBa) to measure intake, rather than Urinary Iodine Concentration (UIC). Validation studies showed a good correlation between the two exposure measures, indicating that FFQ is an adequate long-term measure for iodine status.

FFQ correlation coefficients for the calculated iodine intake and major iodine food sources were higher than for most other foods and nutrients, indicating a regular consumption pattern of food items containing iodine, wrote the researchers.

The researchers emphasised the importance of long-term, rather than short-term iodine status; and that securing long-term adequate dietary (rather than supplemental) intake before pregnancy is essential to promote healthy brain development in children.

Source: The Journal of Nutrition Volume 147, issue 7. Pages 1314-1324 doi: 10.3945/jn.117.250456 Suboptimal Maternal Iodine Intake Is Associated with Impaired Child Neurodevelopment at 3 Years of Age in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study Authors: Marianne H Abel, Anne-Lise Brantsaeter et al

Link:

Food-based iodine during pregnancy important for child brain development - NutraIngredients.com

July 25, 2017 Ambovombe, MadagascarBattered by drought and civil wars, more than 20 million people from Yemen to Tanzania are at risk of starvation in what aid workers call the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. But over the past two decades, nations that once produced searing images of famine's toll have moved to thwart it by strengthening community resilience. Our reporters traveled to Madagascar, Ethiopia, and Somaliland to investigate the daunting challenges as well as the long-term efforts that are saving lives.

First, they sold their goats. Goats are precious, but not as sacred as hump-back zebu cattle. Then they sold their cattle, too. And finally they sold their kitchen pots. There was nothing to cook, anyway, besides leaves and bitter cactus fruit.

For farmers in Madagascars drought-stricken south, this menacing months-long countdown to impending famine last year was measured week-to-week at village markets, where they desperately tried to raise enough money to stay alive and buy seed for one more harvest.

A shepherd leads his livestock away from the Mandrare River after watering them in Amboasary. This area in the country's south has been experiencing a severe drought. The river's water level is very low.

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And then the rains would not come, their cassava and sweet potato plants would wither, and the hunger in their bellies forced them back to the markets to sell whatever they had left.

Thats the true indicator that the south is in real difficulty: when people sell their livestock and their kitchen utensils at rock-bottom prices, says Dr. Audin Rabemiandriso, who for the past six years has run the health clinic in this dusty, ramshackle town, whose dirt streets are lined with women squatting by small piles of root vegetables for sale. And last year was the worst that Ive experienced.

In international aid jargon, that meant that more than half a million people were enduring crisis-level Phase 3 food insecurity. Another 330,000 were in even worse shape, suffering emergency-level Phase 4 food shortages. Phase 5 is famine.

People were on the edge, recalls Elke Wisch, head of the UNICEF office in the Madagascan capital of Antananarivo.

But they did not tip over. Catastrophe was averted. And now, with help from international aid donors and a little rain from the heavens, local farmers and their families are beginning to pick themselves up, rebuild their lives, and prepare to cope better with the next drought.

For a next drought there will surely be. The land in southern Madagascar is fertile: just three or four rains ensure a harvest. But farmers cannot count even on that. Droughts, once cyclical, are now semi-permanent. And last year the situation was worsened by El Nio, the weather pattern that made the rains even more irregular and insufficient.

That threw the farmers plight into sharper focus, reminding the world of the longer-term affects of climate change: Year by year, the lean season from the day that villagers run out of food until the day they reap their next harvest stretches a few weeks longer.

That is a challenge for peasant farmers across eastern Africa. But Madagascars success avoiding famine last year, and the lessons that it learned from its brush with disaster, point to ways in which crises might be averted elsewhere if villagers can strengthen their resilience in the face of danger.

If persistent drought is the new normal, local people are going to have to adapt to it, so as not to risk starvation again. Already, they are making changes to ward off the threat of famine, from more frequent clinic visits to keep an eye on kids health; to new sources of water and crops; to finding ways to earn a little extra cash, or raise a little extra protein an egg-laying chicken, perhaps, that could mean the difference between life and death when the next climatic disaster strikes.

If famine was averted this time round, it was partly because scattered rain has fallen on the parched fields in recent months just enough for some farmers to gather small harvests of corn or cassava. But it was also largely because international aid agencies had long been present in Madagascar, one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. They were in a position to spot the food crisis as it crept up, slowly and silently, and well-placed to quickly provide survival rations and other emergency aid.

A woman walks past a home in the small village of Ankilimanara.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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But even so, Madagascars pitiful infrastructure makes food aid delivery easier said than done. Roads in the south are in catastrophically bad shape, suited better to travelers on foot or on bicycles than to the rare motor vehicles that brave them. Any tarmac that was once laid through the open farm and scrubland has long since crumbled and washed away, leaving red clay highways cloven by mini-canyons that deepen with any rainfall. They are almost impossible for tractor-trailers carrying grain to navigate.

The World Food Programme has been working in the area for 30 years, meaning it could scale up quickly to feed a million people when the situation went critical. But new tactics gave added impact to its aid, circumventing Madagascars geographical challenges. Last year, in regions where there was still food to be had, the WFP gave an emergency $20 per month to families to buy what they could find.

Mothers In Ankilimanara line up to sign an attendance sheet after a meeting with a nonprofit that gives them aid for malnourished children.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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You dont need trucks to distribute cash, just mobile phone networks, Theodore Mbainaissem, the WFP emergency coordinator in Ambovombe, says of the mobile money transfers.Its a lot more practical.

WFP also handed out high-nutrition food supplements to moderately malnourished children, so fewer of them fell into the severe acute malnutrition that could kill them.

UNICEF, the United Nations childrens agency, saw that food was growing alarmingly scarce as early as 2015, when government doctors and nutritionists, carrying out routine health checks with UNICEF support, began reporting skyrocketing levels of child malnutrition.

Quickly, the agency expanded its nutrition programs to all 193 town and village health centers in the south, screening every child under 5 and making sure the worst-malnourished were given high-nutrition, peanut-based food supplements. Our first priority was to prevent loss of life, says Jos Ms Campos, UNICEFs emergency coordinator for Madagascar. By and large, they succeeded; few children died.

A malnourished baby cries after being weighed and measured by visiting doctors during a mobile clinic visit in Amboro. When the project began in this village in February, there were 22 children participating. Now 13 are still involved, the others have improved.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Generally, aid officials say, international donors reacted quickly and generously when they realized how grave the threat of famine had grown. But often they insisted their money be spent only on emergency cases a familiar conundrum for NGOs.

That meant, for example, that UNICEF could not use some donors cash to treat moderately malnourished children, says UNICEF's Ms. Wisch. We had to wait until the situation got absolutely critical, she recalls, when children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition and their lives were at risk.

We got a good response from emergency aid donors, says Wisch. But even if we got people over the hump this time well have another drought in a year or two. What we need is a sustained resilience program to stop people drifting into the next humanitarian emergency-threshold situation.

Thats the thinking behind a package of complementary measures that aid workers are now taking in southern Madagascar to build resilience. That is the new buzzword in humanitarian circles: It is seen as a key to ensuring that farmers have something to hold on to when drought strikes again, rather than finding themselves caught in an endless cycle in and out of disaster.

This crisis is about food, of course, but it is mainly about water, says Mr. Ms Campos. We are not getting enough either from the sky or from the ground. Clean water, he argues, offers the path from emergency survival to long-term development.

UNICEF has been paying for trucks to deliver water to out-of-the-way villages, which spares residents from having to drink unsanitary surface water. But it is not a lasting solution.

Etienne Ramandimbisoa, UNICEF's water specialist, stands on part of an old pumping station by the Mandrare River near Amboasary that he is helping rehabilitate to bring water to drought-affected areas in the country's south.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Much more promising is the kind of system the government has set up with UN assistance in the village of Sihanamaro, a collection of simple wooden huts scattered among savannah shade trees, whose farmers scratch a living from land they have cleared of thorn trees.

Here, a solar pump carries clean water from a sealed well up to a water tower, from which it flows to seven community taps around the village, each set in a cement trough and protected by a picket fence.

This has changed our lives, says Vaha Saajinuru, a mother of eight who until recently had to walk four or five times a day to get water: down the dirt road out of town, and then across thorny grassland to a muddy pit more than a mile from her home.

The children who drank that water easily fell prey to disease that only made their malnutrition worse. We knew it wasnt good for our health but we had no choice, says Ms. Saajinuru. Now my kids have no more stomach problems, and there are three taps near my home where they can go to get water.

Water is still a problem in Ankilimanara, the tiny village where Patricia Soavenira lives in a low-roofed, cramped thatch hut with her husband and four children, sleeping on a mat on the bare earth. But at least she has something to give her family to eat.

Ms. Soavenira is one of 55,000 mothers whose malnourished children make them eligible for a $10 monthly cash handout from a local nongovernmental organization. She spends the money on weekly trips to a market an hours walk away, where she buys rice, corn, beans, and anything else she can afford.

Mother of four Patricia Soavenira, who receives cash aid, sits inside her small wooden hut in Ankilimanara. She was able to buy one cooking pot and five spoons with her first money transfer.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Without the cash, wed just be eating cassava leaves and wild cactus like last year, she says, watching a pot on a smoldering fire as she nurses her baby. I was very, very thin then; very, very weak. And I was very frightened for my children.

Soavenira had sold all her kitchen utensils except one pot and a spoon. Now she has bought five more spoons and another saucepan. They are only the bare essentials, but she would rather spend her money on food, she says. We are still hungry.

The monthly cash handouts are keeping people in Anklimanara alive, but the NGO running the program, the Foundation for Development Intervention, has an innovative, broader vision. Over the next few months it will hand out $60 grants (a small fortune in a country where few earn more than $2 per day) in getting back on your feet money.

Recipients will be expected to invest it in some sort of productive project buying a goat, or planting pigeon peas that need little watering and yield crops repeatedly over three years, for example. Soavenira plans to buy some chickens, she says.

They could save my life, she says flatly. We can eat their eggs, or if one of my kids falls sick I could sell them to get the money for medicine. It means security.

Security is all that sweet potato farmer Prinu Rakutunirina wants, too, as he surveys his field of spindly green shoots under a beating sun. But that doesnt come easy in these parts.

A farmer kneels in a field of drought-resistant sweet potatoes with members of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and a local nonprofit in Andahive. The NGO's distributed seeds and tubers to the farmers so they could grow this variety of sweet potato, which is more nutritious and longer lasting It can keep for a year.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Maybe it was faith or maybe it was desperation, but he stuck with his experimental variety through two crop failures last year, and now he is glad he did. The new strain of tuber, introduced by agronomists with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is more drought-resistant than most. But it was no match for last years drought: Starved of water, the plants withered in the dust in July, and then again in September.

But Mr. Rakutunirina finally brought in a harvest last February. And what a harvest. Yields were double what they used to be, he says, and whats more, the new sweet potatoes last for nearly a year, whereas the old kind rotted after a few weeks. That means he can decide if and when he wants to sell them. It also means he will be able to carry his family through the dreaded kere, the lean season between harvests when there is normally nothing to eat. This is resilience made real.

A malnourished baby's arm is measured during a mobile clinic visit aimed at severely malnourished children in Amboro, Madagascar. The program is run by the national nutrition office and supported by UNICEF.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

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Rakutunirina was part of a pilot group using the new variety. We all saw our crops increase and now everyone wants to plant this type, he says, though it will be a year until the 100,000 farmers now using the improved seeds will have harvested enough to spread the variety throughout the drought-stricken south.

If there is no rain for three months, it does not matter how many high yield seeds you plant, points out Jean-Etienne Blanc, an FAO field worker. Youll get a poor harvest. But farmers are learning about good-quality seeds and how to use them, and next year they will be seeking them out.

Rakutunirina is a convert. Everything depends on the rain, of course, he says. But this plant can protect us from the return of hunger.

More:

Madagascar skirted famine barely. Now, it's boosting resilience before drought returns. - Christian Science Monitor

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.

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Laws and Policies Governing Performance Enhancing Supplements - Gurdon Times

U.S. Poison Control Centers receive a call every 24 minutes, on average, regarding dietary supplement exposures, according to a new study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center, both at Nationwide Childrens Hospital.

The study, published online today in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, found the rate of calls regarding dietary supplement exposures increased (46.1%) during 2000 to 2002, decreased (8.8%) during 2002 to 2005 and increased again (49.3%) from 2005 to 2012. The decrease from 2002 to 2005 most likely resulted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) ban of the botanical stimulant ma huang previously found in some dietary supplements.

Seventy percent of dietary supplement exposure calls occurred among children younger than six years old and the majority of these were unintentional. Most exposures (97.3%) occurred at home, and in more than 97 percent of the cases, the child swallowed the substance. Serious medical outcomes accounted for 4.5 percent of exposures and the most serious outcomes (95.0%) occurred among children six years and older.

"Many consumers believe dietary supplements are held to the same safety and efficacy standards as over-the-counter medications," said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and director of the Center of Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Childrens. "However, dietary supplements are not considered drugs, thus they are not required to undergo clinical trials or obtain approval from the FDA prior to sale, unless the product is labeled as intended for therapeutic use."

Miscellaneous substances found in commonly used dietary supplements accounted for the majority of exposure calls (43.9%). Other substances involved in exposures included botanicals (31.9%), hormonal products (15.1%), and other supplements (5.1%). Amino acids, cultural medicines and energy products each account for less than (2.0%) of exposures.

The dietary supplements with the highest proportion of serious medical outcomes were energy products, botanical and cultural medicines. Within the botanical category, yohimbe accounted for the largest proportion of serious medical outcomes (28.2%).

Nearly 30 percent of yohimbe exposure calls resulted in moderate or major effects. Yohimbe can cause heart beat rhythm changes, kidney failure, seizures, heart attack, and death.

Energy products, including drinks, advertised to increase energy and mental performance, can cause bad clinical effects as well. Many energy product exposures were unintentional and occurred among young children, causing heart and breathing problems, seizures, and other clinical problems. Findings support the need for improved energy product regulation, child-resistant packaging, and caregiver information, according to the study authors.

"Lack of federal oversight has led to inconsistencies in the quality of dietary supplements, product mislabeling and contamination with other substances," said Henry Spiller, MS, D.ABAT, a co-author of the study and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Childrens. "Although the majority of these exposure calls did not result in serious medical outcomes, exposures to yohimbe and energy products can be dangerous, suggesting the need for child-resistant packaging, caregiver education and FDA regulation of these substances."

Data for this study were obtained from the National Poison Data System, which is maintained by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). The AAPCC receives data on calls to participating poison control centers that serve the US and its territories. Poison control centers receive phone calls through the Poison Help Line and document information about the product, route of exposure, individual exposed, exposure scenario, and other data.

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Dietary supplements lead to calls for help every 24 minutes - 10TV

It is a shame that we even have to write about this subject, but it seems that we aging amateurs are frequently targets of scam artists. I am especially interested in health scams, but there are plenty of other types out there, too.

It turns out that there are probably several reasons that those of us who are experienced taxpayers are more likely to be taken in.

A study several years ago led by UCLA psychologist Shelley Taylor found that older individuals were less likely to recognize untrustworthy facial cues than younger adults (a smile in the mouth, but not in the eye, an averted gaze or a backward lean). In a follow-up study using brain imaging, Taylor found that older adults appear to have less activity in the area of the brain that processes risk and subtle danger. She hypothesizes that this may be part of an effort to make life more positive (those rose-colored glasses) as we age.

Whatever the reason (or reasons) that make us more likely to fall for them, we are exposed to scams on a daily basis, whether we read magazines, newspapers, junk mail," surf the web or watch most television channels.

What are the most common health scams?

Treatments for diseases that are difficult or very complicated to take care of or require significant lifestyle changes for successful management like many cancers, diabetes or obesity. These scams are potentially dangerous and may cause harmful delays in getting proper diagnosis and appropriate therapy.

Treatments for illnesses that we lack highly effective medications or other interventions for like dementia or aging itself. In addition to potentially delaying diagnosis of treatable or reversible causes of decreased mental acuity or illnesses that may mimic standard aging, costs for many treatments are substantial.

Treatments for diseases that wax and wane in severity for reasons that are often difficult to understand or predict such as multiple sclerosis, many forms of arthritis and even low back pain. Since the symptoms come and go, treatments like magnets, copper bracelets, special diets, dietary supplements and electronic devices may appear to work, and many people spend many dollars with very limited benefits.

Dietary supplements are an element in all of the health scams listed above. While they are intended to ensure that a person gets enough essential nutrients, they are often promoted to do much more than this.

They are not regulated as drugs and may not claim to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure diseases (except the appropriate use of vitamins folic acid, for example, prevents neural tube defects when given to pregnant women).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to review dietary supplement products for safety or effectiveness before they are marketed. So it is buyer beware when using these products.

Why are supplements potentially risky products? Many supplements contain ingredients that have biological effects in the body that could lead to harmful consequences: when several supplements are combined, when supplements and prescription medications are used together, when supplements are used instead of prescription medications, or when supplements are used in larger doses than recommended.

So, if you take dietary supplements, use them as directed and be sure that your health care provider knows what products you are using and how much. It will be helpful to bring your supplements with you to your appointments.

The FDA has a list of Tip-Offs to Rip-Offs

1. Be suspicious of these red flag claims and others like them: quick fix," all natural, miracle cure," one product does it all," scientific breakthrough," new discovery," what your doctor doesnt want you to know," secret ingredient," shrinks tumors," lowers blood sugar," or lose weight without diet or exercise.

2. Be wary of personal testimonials by real people or doctors claiming amazing results. Testimonials are not a substitute for scientific proof.

3. Be careful. If a product claims to cure a wide range of unrelated diseases, its probably a scam.

Scams are out there, dont let yourself or your family members fall victim to one of them.

Bert Keller and Bill Simpson write the occasional column, Aging for Amateurs. Simpson, a retired physician, wrote this installment. Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome atagingforamateurs@gmail.com.

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Aging for Amateurs: Too good to be true? Health scams are out there - Charleston Post Courier

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 - Paris Express

With the excess amounts of information available to us now via the internet and a variety of other sources, there is a deluge of news regarding supplements. Any given day a new story can be published regarding supplements that leads to questions. These questions may be about whether supplements are beneficial or harmful, which ones are most effective or not effective at all, and whether or not they should even be ingested. Here are a few ways to help determine whether or not what is published is legitimate.

Sources The source of the information can be vital in determining if the information you are acquiring is legitimate or not. Gathering information from an unbiased source that isnt directly involved with the sales of a product or wouldnt benefit from an article whether it is positive or negative is ideal. When searching for supplements on the internet, use noncommercial sites (e.g. NIH, FDA, USDA) rather than depending on information from sellers, advises the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (1). These sites, especially those based in science, will typically offer cold hard facts that can be utilized as a starting point towards your research into supplement news.

However, many of us will have our go-to publications and news sources that we rely on. These often distill scientific information in easily digestible ways that help us draw conclusions more easily. Big news sources such as newspapers and magazines have fact-checkers that verify information or will cite their sources. Citations are helpful because they allow you to explore another source of information. They are particularly important when coming across a website that is unfamiliar. Checking these sources can be the litmus test for how reliable the information is. Students may remember being told time and again by teachers not to trust Wikipedia, for example, because the sources may be unreliable. Be sure to check multiple sources for confirmation of information you have obtained.

As with many industries, those working in it perceive a bias against it, particularly from mainstream media outlets because they typically focus on reporting negative topics such as recalls and clinical trials that may contradict established information. Skeptics of dietary supplements may view these reports as proof while believers view them as an aberration. Indeed, not all studies are well designed and industry advocates will say so, easing the concerns of dietary supplement users.

We dont encourage anyone to validate only their personal world view, but to try to get both sides of the story and decide for themselves. For example, a few years ago, when negative press came out questioning fish oils effectiveness for supporting heart health, it caused a decline in sales and anxiety in the industry. However, in science, one study cannot refute an abundant amount of research.

Noncommercial sites that are primarily informational are ideal, though sites for specific product manufacturers can sometimes provide helpful information. It should however, be taken with a grain of salt and more due diligence should be conducted from outside sources. This is particularly true if one manufacturer is disparaging anothers product.

Claims Be wary of products making generous claims. If claims sound too good to be true, they probably are. Be mindful of product claims such as works better than [a prescription drug], totally safe, or has no side effects, advises FDA (1). Supplements do not require the same level of scrutiny as drugs, so FDA is not authorized to review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed, unless it is a new dietary ingredient. However, this means that supplement manufacturers cannot make disease claims that over-the-counter and prescription drugs are authorized to make.

Unlike drugs, which must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed, dietary supplements do not require premarket review or approval by the FDA. While the supplement company is responsible for having evidence that their products are safe and that label claims are truthful and not misleading, they do not have to provide that evidence to the FDA before the product is marketed, explains the National Institutes of Health (2).

Knowing the manufacturer of the supplement and their history can be helpful in this regard. Enforcement actions are made public by FDA and can be easily found on their sites. Most dietary supplement manufacturers and suppliers follow the letter of the law closely, but some go too far, either pushing the envelope with the claims theyre allowed to make or even marketing products with dangerous and illegal ingredients. The latter is particularly important to watch because their irresponsibility can harm consumers and unfortunately reflects negatively on the industry as a whole. It is important to keep in mind that on the whole, dietary supplement companies manufacture and sell products responsibly.

Varying conflicting reports about supplements can make being informed difficult. Knowing the correct way to verify information found concerning supplements is important in weighing decisions regarding the validity of news being reported about them. Regardless of facts and opinions involving supplement information, one fact remains the same, supplements are not there to cure or treat disease, and with any changes to diet, always check with a physician before starting a dietary supplement regimen. This is particularly important if one takes prescription drugs, in order to avoid interactions (3). WF

References

Published in WholeFoods Magazine August 2017

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Interpreting Supplement News | Whole Foods Magazine - WholeFoods Magazine