Multiple-Vitamin, Mineral Combination Reduces the Risk of Cancer in Men

In this French study 13,000 men and women aged 35 to 60 were placed on a supplement for an average of 7.5 years. The supplement included Vitamin C 120mg, Vitamin E 45 IU, Beta-Carotene 10,000 IU, Selenium 100mcg, and Zinc 20mg. The incidence of cancer among men was significantly lower in the supplemented group than in the placebo group. The study is published in the November 22nd, 2004 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

The men had more protection than the women possibly because men have lower antioxidant levels in general than women according to these researchers (of course this is in France, and is not possibly, representative of women in the USA). I would add the following to protect women and decrease their risk of cancer - Lycopene, Folic Acid, Tocotrienols, and Gamma-Tocopherol along with the previous formula. The men also would have benefited from these additional ingredients.

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Little Help to Arthritic Knee According to Review of 23 Studies

• Doctors must consider alternatives to long term use of anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and Celebrex, for osteoarthritis of the knee(s).
• New research shows they are not very effective for the knee and they have dangerous side effects. These drugs are being used for longer periods of time than has been proven to be safe and effective.
• Researchers analyzed 23 studies comparing NSAIDs to placebo in about 11,000 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The researchers concluded that these drugs reduced short term pain only slightly better than placebo.
• Stomach and intestinal bleeding from these drugs causes a minimum of 15,000 deaths in the USA alone annually. The study is published in the November 19th, 2004 online edition of the British Medical Journal.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

This is not good news on the back of the reports about Bextra, and the voluntary recall of Vioxx.