Chicken Soup For the Airways?

As we approach Fall, our thoughts turn to pumpkins, cold mornings, dark nights and welcoming bowls of soup.  Soup is also on the minds of a group of researchers in Scotland. A new study will be conducted by Baxter Food Group, together with researchers from the University of Aberdeen plan to study whether soups enhanced with vitamin E may help reduce the chance of childhood asthma.

Together, they have developed 3 soups containing ingredients with high levels of vitamin E. By judicious tweaking of ingredients, for example, substituting normal tomatoes found in cream of tomato soup with their sun-dried counterparts, they were able to develop three new varieties of “super-soups”.  The soups also contain other ingredients rich vitamin E, including beans, lentils, wheat-germ, sunflower oil and sun-dried tomatoes.  They’ve also created “placebo soups” which have been made to look and taste similar to the real ones, but do not contain intensified levels of vitamin E.

Their intent is to increase the daily intake of vitamin E among pregnant women from current levels which are on average of 8mg per day to approximately 15mg per day.  The 50 women involved in the study will begin consuming 3 servings of soup per week when they are 12 weeks pregnant, and do the same until they deliver their babies.

They will examine whether the new dietary intervention is well tolerated by the women and if it has the desired effect on vitamin intake. And, during the first week of the babies’ lives their lung function will be examined.

The researchers hope that fortifying soup with vitamin E could help prevent childhood asthma.  Prior studies have shown that low vitamin E diets for pregnant women tend to result in babies being born with a higher chance of asthma by the time they reach 5 years old.   But this will be the first asthma study to use dietary supplementation of vitamin E rather than tablet supplements.

Graham Devereux, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Consultant Physician at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, commented: “Although far more difficult, it seems more natural to give vitamin E in a natural food form rather than a vitamin E pill because the vitamin E containing foods comprise a complex mix of nutrients that might be critically important. When one considers the foods containing vitamin E, soup seems an obvious intervention”.

The overall approach has support from both nutritionists and asthma experts.

“If we’re really lucky we might show that the children [born to women] receiving vitamin E enhancement may actually have better lung function,” Prof Deveraux says. “The ultimate aim of this research is to reduce the prevalence of asthma by an effective, inexpensive, acceptable and safe public health dietary intervention. If successful, the proposed intervention could form the basis of public health dietary advice to pregnant women that could reduce the prevalence of childhood asthma by 15-20% within five years.”

Depending on the outcome of the current study, Deveraux and his team plan to launch a much bigger study.

So will these super soups work?  Stay tuned and we’ll ladle out the news as it breaks!

A vitamin-a-day may do more harm than good

One of the few businesses that has benefitted from the current U.S. recession has been the dietary supplements industry. While some predicted that falling disposable income would hamper sales of vitamins and supplements, the opposite actually occurred: As more people lost their jobs and ability to pay for healthcare, many turned to supplements to remain healthy and ward off expensive doctor visits and pharmaceutical drugs. 

However, the results of two studies, published last week may signal a  reverse of the fortunes of this $30 billion per year industry.

Last week researchers from the Cleveland Clinic announced that vitamin E can enhance chances of prostate cancer. A study involving more than 35,000 men found that those who took a daily dose of 400 IU of vitamin E had a 17% increased incidence of prostate cancer than men who took a placebo.

“For the typical man, there appears to be no benefit in taking vitamin E and, in fact, there may be some harm,” said Dr. Eric Klein, an internationally renowned prostate cancer expert who served as the national study coordinator.

This surprising news was followed in short order by a report that dietary supplements can also increase mortality rate in older women.

The Iowa Women’s Health Study, which started in 1986, set out to determine to what degree diet and other lifestyle factors influence risk of chronic disease.

By the end of the study period in 2008, a total of 41,836 postmenopausal women were investigated – of which 15,594 had died. Multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper were all associated with increased total mortality risk.  Supplemental iron was most strongly associated with increased mortality whereas, calcium supplements, were associated with a decreased risk.

Study leader Dr Lisa Harnack, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, said: “Among the elderly, use of supplements is widespread, often with the intention of attaining health benefits by preventing chronic diseases. Our study raises concerns regarding their long-term safety.”

SRxA’s Word on Health won’t be taking any chances. No more once-a-day for us!

COPD – E

Word on Health was interested to note that regular use of vitamin E in women over 45 may help decrease the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to researchers at Cornell University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Long-term, the risk falls by approximately 10% in both smokers and non-smokers.

“As lung disease develops, damage occurs to sensitive tissues through several proposed processes, including inflammation and damage from free radicals,” commented Anne Hermetet Agler, of  Cornell University’s Division of Nutritional Sciences. “Vitamin E may protect the lung against such damage.”

Previous research had found that higher intake of vitamin E was associated with a lower risk of COPD, but this is the first time it has been shown that increasing vitamin E intake can prevent COPD.

In this study, nearly 40,000 women aged 45 years and older were randomized to receive either 600 mg of vitamin E or a placebo every other day.  Although fewer women taking vitamin E developed COPD, the supplement appeared to have no effect on asthma.

If results of this study are borne out by further research, clinicians may recommend that women take vitamin E supplements to prevent COPD.

While this may be good news for some, Word on Health reminds its readers that vitamin E supplements are known to have detrimental effects in some people. For example it can cause increased risk of congestive heart failure in cardiovascular disease patients. As such, any future recommendations would need to balance both benefits and risks.

Do you have COPD, or tips for those who are living with the disease?  If so, SRxA’s Word on Health is waiting to hear from you.