The Verdict Is In, For Some.

Some simple math to start. "Nutrition" + "Pharmaceutical" = "Nutraceutical. A nutraceutical is defined as a food or food product that provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Hippocrates, thought to be the father of Western medicine said, "Let food be thy medicine."


It is nearly impossible to walk the streets or malls of any major city and not come across a Vitamin Shoppe, GNC or some other supplement type store. The nutraceutical industry in the US is about $86 billion with nearly 2/3 of Americans taking at least one type of nutraceutical health product. When I recently walked into one of these stores to buy some recommended supplements for my morning protein shake the amount of inventory was overwhelming. Amino acids, probiotics, vitamins, etc. filled the shelves from floor to ceiling. This is clearly an industry on the rise but I wonder if this is money well spent.

Over the last year the news has been dominated by the struggling economy with the resultant unemployment and the debate over health care. I was surprised to read that while the economy has fallen vitamin sales have climbed. A story in the NY Times clearly demonstrated supplement consumers rationale. The people indicated that with higher deductibles or worse no health insurance at all it makes more sense to focus on prevention. Economist Uwe E. Reinhardt stated that he "sees the growing interest in vitamins and herbs as a logical extension of the concept consumer-directed health care." One person noted that he used to spend $50/month on various prescriptions for his chronic diseases but now spends $6/month on supplements. While I would definitely not recommend substituting "traditional" medicines with supplements I have always been an advocate for prevention of chronic diseases.

The argument against alternative medicine from allopathic physicians has always been that there is not enough evidence based research to support many of the claims. Based on this challenge many of these treatments have been and are currently being studied in clinical trials. The verdict is in that Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to long term health. These are two supplements that I believe everyone should take as a means of prevention.

Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin" because it is synthesized by humans when the skin is exposed to UV-B rays. Vitamin D assists in calcium reabsorption which is crucial for bone strength and thus the prevention of osteoporosis (thinning bones). It is additionally thought to strengthen the immune system and may prevent against high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases (such as multiple sclerosis and psoriasis) and may defend against certain cancers. The majority of people in the US have been found to be Vitamin D deficient either due to the Western diet, sunscreen (doesn't mean you shouldn't wear it) or the long winters. Based on this trend most primary care physicians are checking Vitamin D levels routinely and recommending 1000-2000 units of Vitamin D3 (not D2) per day as maintenance. Please ask your physician to check your level next time you get blood work.

Two essential omega-3 fatty acids are EPA and DHA which are present in cold water, oily fish (salmon, mackerel, herring) or in fish oil supplements. EPA has been found to be heart protective while DHA is beneficial to support the nervous system (brain function/development). Inflammation is major component of most chronic diseases and omega-3 fatty acids work to down regulate this process that can cause strokes, heart attacks, cancer, etc. Fish oil is very effective in regulating high cholesterol and this is certainly something to have tested by your primary care physician on an annual basis.

As a homework assignment I would recommend learning your Vitamin D level and cholesterol panel (LDL-"bad" and HDL-"good". Consider starting on the above mentioned supplements which I have done recently in order to continue to take my own advice. There is still debate about the benefits of antioxidants, probiotics, etc. but I will keep you posted.

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