. In fact, in 2005, 1.5 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people 20 years and older. That doesn’t even count the millions of youngsters who also suffer from the disease.

The DSEA study was conducted by the prestigious Lewin Group, a national health care and human services consulting firm. Read the report about this powerful discovery below. The second study I am presenting today points out the possibility that many women need more vitamin K in their systems to support bone health. I know you will find both of these studies to be highly informative.

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

Lee Swanson

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Diabetics who take dietary supplements tend to manage the disease, and their overall health, better than those who do not, according to a study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA).

(Article)

Diabetics who take dietary supplements tend to manage the disease, and their overall health, better than those who do not, according to a study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA).

Conducted by the Lewin Group, key findings of the study include the following. 1. Use of dietary supplements by the general population is significantly associated with reporting oneself to be in better health than a year ago. 2. Diabetic supplement users report being in better health than diabetics who do not use supplements. 3. Diabetic supplement users are more likely to engage in protective health behaviors. 4. About 34% of diabetics take dietary supplements.

In preparing the study, the Lewin Group reviewed the research literature and IBIDS bibliographic database and analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), to determine whether diabetics who use dietary supplements differ from diabetics who do not use supplements on a variety of health and behavioral dimensions. The NHANES is an annual, nationally representative survey of approximately 7,000 individuals of all ages who are surveyed on demographic, health behavior, diet and health status.

The study reports that the scientific literature contains promising evidence on specific supplements and their role in reducing Type 2 diabetes (magnesium), in lowering blood pressure levels (omega-3 fatty acids) and in improving neuropathic symptoms, such as pain, burning and numbness (alpha-lipoic acid).

The Lewin Group also discovered that “Persons with diabetes who also use supplements do not differ from non-supplement users on insulin or medication use. However, they were more likely to use chromium, zinc, calcium, folate and omega-3 fatty acids than non-supplement users.”

A PDF of the report is available online at www.supplementinfo.org

The typical intake of vitamin K by women may not be enough to support bone health in the perimenopausal years, according to a study performed by the University of Michigan School of Nursing and published in the journal Menopause.

(Article)

The typical intake of vitamin K by women may not be enough to support bone health in the perimenopausal years, according to a study performed by the University of Michigan School of Nursing and published in the journal Menopause.

Fifty-nine healthy women participated in the study. They were divided into three groups: 19 women aged 40-52; 21 women aged 20-30 and 19 untreated women between 40-52 years. The study included blood tests, interviews and food frequency questionnaires to determine dietary habits, calculation of the body mass index (BMI) as well as measurement of bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and the non-dominant hip.

With the help of vitamin K, the protein osteocalcin can bind to calcium in the bone. This protein becomes part of the bone structure when it is chemically modified to bind to calcium through a carboxylization. In the study, the percentage of undercarboxylated osteocalcin was higher in the untreated early postmenopausal group compared with all the other women, suggesting these women were deficient in vitamin K.

“Our study suggests that the generally accepted level of vitamin K in healthy women is inadequate to maintain bone health just at the onset of menopause,” said lead author Jane Lukacs in a communication accompanying the study’s publication. She did not express an opinion on optimum vitamin K intake.

Those who take anticoagulant medicine for hypercoagulation, however are generally advised not to take vitamin K because it is thought to play a role in blood clotting.

Menopause 13(5):799-808,2006