Custom Search

Lee Swanson Research Update

Lee Swanson/Swansons Products

Feb. 27, 20114

Dear Friends and Valued Customers:

In last week's Research Update, I reported on a study indicating cinnamon supplementation may help improve liver function and inflammation in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the world's most prevalent chronic liver disease. This week we have exciting new research indicating people with NAFLD may also benefit from adding another type of supplement to their daily health regimen: probiotics.

While we most often think of probiotics in terms of GI tract and immune system health, a growing body of research indicates they have wide-ranging effects throughout the body. Most recently, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study involving 52 patients with NAFLD who were given either a probiotic/prebiotic combination or a placebo for 28 weeks. Compared with the placebo group, subjects in the probiotic group demonstrated significant improvement in markers for inflammation and liver function. Read my first report to find out more.

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in developed nations, and the leading cause of anemia in the US. Problems traditionally associated with iron deficiency include fatigue, decreased immune function, poor memory and mental function, and difficulty maintaining body temperature. Now new research from the UK indicates another health concern may be linked to iron deficiency as well—an increased risk for stroke. In a study involving 497 patients with a hereditary condition that gave them an elevated stroke risk, subjects with low serum iron levels were twice as likely to suffer a stroke compared with subjects whose iron levels were within the normal range. My second report has more information.

Finishing off this week we have new research from the journal Ophthalmology that gives us all another good reason to keep taking our multivitamins every day: they may help protect against developing cataracts. In a study involving 14,641 male physicians aged 50 years and older, subjects taking a daily multivitamin had a nine percent lower risk of cataracts compared with subjects taking a placebo. My final report has the details.

As always, I wish you the very best of health.