Posted by sues-health on July 10, 2007 at 01:24:15 PM

If a little is good, more must be better, right?

Unfortunately too many people believe this when it comes to taking dietary supplements.  Some vitamins and minerals are actually harmful when taken at high dosages.

Take selenium for example.  Selenium functions as an antioxidant in the body, working with vitamin E and thyroid hormone.  The daily requirement for adults is 55ug per day, however toxicity can develop with intakes over 400ug per day.  Toxicity symptoms include loss and brittleness of nails and hair, irritability, fatigue, nervous system disorders and garlic breath odor.

You can also add increasing the likelyhood of developing Type 2 diabetes to the list if results of a recently published study prove to be accurate.  I'll spare you all the details of the study (however if you are interested, click here), but essentially what these researchers found was that long term doses of 200ug per day of selenium raised a person's chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. 

As in any research, care must be taken at interpreting results.  One study alone does not prove the relationship, however it is safe to say these results are interesting and will no doubt spur further research.

So what is the significance of all this for you?  You may be thinking this doesn't even apply to you  because you don't regularly take selenium supplements.  I suggest you take a look at any multivitamins you take routinely, some contain selenium so you actually may be getting more than you think you are.

Do you really need supplemental selenium?  In my opinion, no.

Selenium is found in soil, and thus vegetables and other plants grown in most areas of the country provide adequate sources of dietary selenium.  Even in areas that have low soil selenium levels, a large variety of foods from other areas of the country are available that provide selenium.  Seafood and organ meats are also good sources of selenium.  Deficiencies are relatively rare in the US.

Posted by sues-health on July 3, 2007 at 12:24:54 PM

Its no secret that sales of organic foods are booming.  In 2004 alone, $20 billion was spent by American consumers for organics, and this figure is expected to rise to $30 billion in 2007.

Its no secret that organic foods cost more than their non-organic counterparts, but apparently consumers are willing to pay more for the perceived benefits of these foods.

What seems like a secret is how to read organic food labels. 

What does the Certified Organic seal actually mean?                                                        

Any food that bears the seal must meet certain criteria.  First of all the seal guarantees that the food grower has been inspected by a US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) - accredited agency.  This ensures that no synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers, nor genetically-modified seeds or irradiation treatment. was used. The grower must also keep detailed records of the procedures utilized which may be subject to an unannounced review at any time.

Contrary to popular thought, the Certified Organic Seal does not guarantee  that  the food has been locally grown nor that it is more nutritious than conventionally - grown food.

Also, there are several USDA - Certified Organic Food Categories, not all are 100% organic.  For example, if a product label statement reads "100% organic", then you can be assured that it is. 

However if the label reads simply "Organic", it means the product is only 95 - 99% organic.  Likewise, any food that is less than 95% organic cannot by law display the Certified Seal.  What appears on the label instead for foods which are only 74 - 94% organic is "Made with organic ingredients".  Foods which contain even lesser amounts of organic ingredients are permitted to display the organic ingredients on the information panel only.

Bottom LIne:   Read labels carefully to make sure you are buying just what you think you are!