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Archive for the ‘Vitamins’ Category

At Oregon State University’s Linus Pauling Institute, a study was conducted that demonstrates how Alpha-lipoic acid can be effective in reducing trigycerides. The study was conducted by Dr. Regis Moreau and colleagues (Judy A. Butler and Tory M. Hagen). High triglyceride levels will often occur in obesity and can lead to liver disease, atherosclerosis and premature mortality. Triglyceride levels can be reduced with proper diet and exercise, but these measures are not always effective for everyone.

In the 5-week study, rats were bred to be obese and diabetic. When the rats were 5 weeks old, they were given 200 mg of Alpha-lipoic acid per day per kg of body weight. A control group of rats were given the same diet without the Alpha-lipoic acid. The study showed that although the triglyceride levels in the rats that were given the Alpha-lipoic acid doubled, the triglyceride levels of the control group quadrupled. This demonstrated that Alpha-lipoic acid can be effective in lowering triglycerides.

The study was cited in an articled published February 20, 2009 in the online journal: Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (“Lipoic acid improves hypertriglyceridemia by stimulating triacylglycerol clearance and downregulating liver triacylglycerol secretion” http://www.sciencedirect.com). In the article, Dr. Moreau states,”The extent of triglyceride reduction was really dramatic, we didn’t expect it to be this profound.”

Telomeres are structures on the ends of chromosomes which determine how many times a cell can divide. Each time a cell divides, a little bit of the telomeres are shaved off. The more times a cell divides, the shorter the telomeres become. The longer the telomeres, the more times a cell can divide. Thus, it is important to understand what factors affect telomere length.

The length of the telomeres are directly related to aging and health. Shorter telomeres have been linked with higher mortality along with increased risk of some chronic diseases. Factors like diet, stress, vitamins, etc. can be important.

A recent clinical study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has shown that the length of telomeres were affected by the use of multivitamins. The study was reported online on March 11, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study was done on a group of 586 women between the ages of 35 and 74 and showed that daily users of multivitamins had, on average, 5.1 percent longer telomeres compared with nonusers.