Omega-3s, cognitive health, and Dr Oz: NutraIngredients-USA’s top articles of the summer
The biggest news at the start of the summer was Dr Oz’s appearance before a Senate subcommittee, and his grilling at the hands of Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). It remains to be seen if Dr Oz tones down some of the claims on his show, whether he reduces his coverage of dietary supplements, or if he starts to name products that he thinks have sufficient science to support their claims.
Also providing testimony at the hearing were Dr Daniel Fabricant, CEO of the Natural Products Association, Steven Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, Lee Peeler, president of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council at the Better Business Bureau, and Rob Haralson, executive director of TrustInAds.org.
Following the panel, Mister authored a guest article for us (click HERE) outlining the lessons he learned (and that industry should listen to) from the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance.
Brain health
Our most read article of the summer was our gallery on the top ingredients for cognitive health, which was part of our July Special Edition. Omega-3s, phosphatidylSerine (PS), curcumin, citicoline, vitamin E, and magnesium were just some of the ingredients we covered.
Another top read article was “Fish oil linked to structural changes in the brain: Human data” about a new study from Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital which found that fish oil supplements may conserve brain volume and cognition across the spectrum of normal aging and neurodegeneration.
Interest in omega-3s was also evident by the readership figures for the article, ‘Not all omega-3 supplements are created equal, at least in terms of CVD risk reduction’, says new study, which found that manufacturers' recommended doses of omega-3 fatty acids from different sources may have different efficacies when it comes to heart health benefits.
Multivitamins are not unnecessary…
Another big story was the response to an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine that claimed that multivitamins are not useful.
Balz Frei PhD, chairman of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, Bruce Ames, PhD, of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Jeffrey Blumberg PhD, of Tufts University and Walter Willett MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, stated that the authors “ignored decades of nutrition research and diet monitoring of the U.S. population to reach this misleading conclusion”.
Please click on the following link to read the full article: Nutrition researchers shoot holes in assertion that multivitamins are unnecessary
