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May 20, 2013
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Vitamin E hype
By
Harvard Health Letters
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JewishWorldReview.com |
Vitamin E is a popular supplement, hyped to improve your health for everything from the brain to the bedroom. However, the science backing up those claims is largely inconclusive. Now, a recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine further suggests that too much vitamin E may even weaken your bones.
Researchers found that rats given megadoses of vitamin E developed bones 20 percent weaker than those of rats on a normal diet. The amount of vitamin E given the rats was proportionately far in excess of what most human beings consume in their regular diet, or what is in a typical vitamin E supplement.
But you should still be careful how much vitamin E you consume, cautions Dr. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
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The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin E is only 15 milligrams (mg), although many vitamin E supplements come in 400 mg doses, and the upper limit of what is considered a safe dose of vitamin E is 800 to 1,000 mg per day.
"More recent meta-analyses suggests that doses above 400 mg a day may be harmful," says Dr. Bistrian.
UNDERSTANDING VITAMIN E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin with antioxidant properties that help protect cells against breakdown. That suggests that antioxidants may protect against cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, but Dr. Bistrian says high doses don't equate to more protection.
"Unlike most medicines, nutrients are often harmful when taken in relatively small amounts above what would be considered beneficial," he says. "According to this study, it seems that megadoses of vitamin E can increase the breakdown of bone."
He notes, however, that one must be careful when applying the results of animal studies to humans. "It is a large leap from rodents to man," Dr. Bistrian says.
GETTING YOUR VITAMIN E
Vitamin E deficiency is rare in industrialized societies, though Dr. Bistrian says that diseases affecting absorption of food from the intestine, such as cystic fibrosis and celiac syndrome, can lead to deficiencies in vitamin E.
If you want your RDA of vitamin E from dietary sources only, consider adding more nuts and green vegetables to your diet. Just one ounce of almonds contains about 7 mg of vitamin E-- nearly half the daily allowance--while half a cup of spinach has about 2 mg. -- Harvard Health Letter
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