O ctober 19, 2011
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Page 17
Worried about the Safety of Vitamins?
Health experts
offer advice
(AP) - Two studies last week
raised gnawing worries about the
safety o f vitamin supplements and
a host of questions. Should any
one be taking them ? W hich ones
are most risky? And if you do take
them, how can you pick the safest
ones?
V itam in s have long had a
"health halo." Many people think
they're good for you and at worst
might simply be unnecessary. The
industry calls them an insurance
policy against bad eating.
But our foods are increasingly
pumped full of them already. Even
ju n k foods and drinks often are
fortified with nutrients to give
them a healthier profile, so the risk
is rising that we're getting too
much. Add a supplem ent and you taking high doses of vitam in E —
may exceed the upper limit.
400 units a day — for five years
"W e're finding out they're not had a slightly increased risk of
as harm less as the industry m ight prostate cancer.
have us b eliev e," said D avid
As many as one-third of Am eri
Schardt, a nutritionist at the con cans take vitamins, and nearly half
sum er group Center for Science in of people 50 and older take m ulti
the Public Interest.
vitamins, surveys suggest. A m eri
Last week, a study of nearly cans spent $9.6 billion on vita
4 0 ,0 0 0 o ld er w om en found a mins last year, up from $7.2 billion
slig h tly h ig h e r risk o f d eath in 2005. M ultivitam ins top the list
a m o n g th o s e ta k in g d ie ta r y at nearly $5 billion in sales.
supplem ents, including m ultivi
Yet there is no clear evidence
tam ins, folic acid, iron and cop that m ultivitam ins lower the risk
per. It was ju st an observational of cancer, heart disease or any
study, though, not a rigorous test. other chronic health problems. No
A nother study found that men governm ent agency recom mends
Local HIV/AIDS
Services Boosted
The Portland Housing Bureau
has received $1.4 m illion in new
funding from the U.S. Department
o f Housing and Urban D evelop
m ent to fund a variety o f housing
services, including short-term rent
assistance, em ploym ent services,
and perm anent housing for people
living with HIV and experiencing
hom elessness.
This new funding will provide
hom es for up to 60 more people
living with HIV/AIDS per year and
connect them to em ploym ent op
portunities. M ore than 600 people
living with HIV/AIDS are experi
encing hom elessness, or on the
brink o f becoming homeless in the
Portland m etropolitan area, offi
cials said.
Seventy percent of people liv
ing with HIV/AIDS have incomes
below the federal poverty level.
Lack of em ploym ent and benefits
income presents a major barrier to
securing housing.
The new funding will support
the work of Cascade AIDS Project
in providing rent assistance, case
management and employment ser
vices, with the em ploym ent and
tr a in in g s e rv ic e s o ffe re d at
W o rk S o u rc e P o rtla n d M etro
funded by W orksystem s, Inc.
Multivitamins
are poured from
a bottle.
disease in people with too little of a
certain vitamin can be misleading:
Correcting a deficiency so you have
the right daily amount is different
from supplementing beyond recom
mended levels.
The best way to get vitam ins is
to eat foods that naturally contain
them, said Jody Engel, a nutrition
ist with Office o f Dietary Supple
ments. "Foods provide more than
ju st vitam ins and m inerals, such
as fiber and other ingredients that
may have positive health effects."
Schardt adds: "It's virtually im
possible to overdose on the nutri
ents in food."
Some folks may need more o f
certain nutrients and should talk
with their doctors about supple
m ents, such as calcium and vita
min D.
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them "regardless o f the quality o f
a person's diet," says a fact sheet
from the federal Office o f Dietary
Supplements. And vitam ins aren't
required to undergo the strict test
ing required of U.S.-approved pre
scription m edicines.
Some fads, such as the antioxi
dant craze over vitamins A and E
and beta-carotene, backfired when
studies found more health risk, not
less. And studies that find more
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