In the news

Multivitamins – again!

            It’s a never-ending controversy – is it worth taking a daily multivitamin/multimineral? A recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among about 1,000 healthy adults showed that taking a daily multivitamin/multimineral for two years slowed down the biological aging process. The improvements were small but statistically significant. The effects were greater among those whose aging markers were less healthy.

            There are so many variables in this type of study that make it difficult to interpret. Perhaps an AI program will ultimately come up with a clear answer but that might be asking too much even for AI. How the human body utilizes nutrients in the diet and supplements varies not only according to one’s genetic pattern, but even according to one’s microbiome, the vast numbers of microorganisms that live in and on our bodies.

            More than twenty years ago the American Medical Association, in two articles in their journal (JAMA), acknowledged  that everyone would benefit from a daily multivitamin/multimineral. In the two decades since then do you think that the Standard American Diet (SAD) has improved?

            I take supplements for one reason: I can’t be sure that my diet includes what I need every day. I sometimes skip meals and I don’t always get the recommended ten servings of fruits and vegetables. How about you? Taking a supplement that contains the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals – and avoiding excess amounts — is simply insurance.

            NOTE: I have noted in past posts that today’s supermarket fruits and vegetables have fewer nutrients that those of a half-century ago, a phenomenon that has been documented by agricultural colleges and described in the book by Jo Robinson, Eating on the wild side, available (of course) on Amazon.

Lifestyle

            During a two-month stay in Italy I couldn’t help but notice that Italians are noticeably thinner than Americans. The difference became quite obvious when I watched groups of tourists follow their pennant-waving guide (who was aways slender). Invariably, they spoke English or German.

            The food was, as expected, marvelous, but only rarely were the restaurant portions so large that there was no room for dessert. Those desserts weren’t very big either, and often consisted mostly of fruit.

            Pasta? Of course, but pasta – even in the United States – does not raise blood sugar as much as you might expect. And in Italy it is often just a small side dish. I had pizza at least once a week. Typically the crust was about as thin as a crepe, topped with tomato sauce. The whole thing had about as much cheese as a single slice of an American pizza. Our favorite place had the aforementioned wafer-thin crust topped with slices of prosciutto cotto – cooked ham- that was sliced so thinly that I could literally see the tomato sauce underneath.

Note: a touristy pizza place, obviously catering to Americans, had a thick crust and loads of cheese.

            I walked, and walked, and walked, usually two or three miles a day. My apartment, on the third floor, had no elevator, a rarity in those 500-year-old buildings in Tuscany. Bicycles, few of which were electrified, were everywhere. It was common to see persons who were clearly in their seventies or older, breezily threading their way among the crowds of tourists. However, teenagers rode motorized bikes and scooters, making me wonder if they will be as fit as their grandparents in the future.