Photo Credit: Jennie E. Devore (With Bonus Wisdom About Multivitamins)
I liked Chuck Devore, who was one of my companions on last week's Act for Israel media fellowship. He challenged Carly Fiorina in the California primary, and I wish he'd been successful. You get a good sense of what a politician's about when you spend a week cooped up in a van with him, and I came away feeling not only that his heart was in the right place, but that he's completely on top of the details of governing--the sort of politician who knows exactly, and from experience, how many meters there should be between your house and anything combustible if you live in an area prone to forest fires. That stuff matters.
But this post isn't about him, it's about his daughter Jennie, who came along with us on the trip. Jennie was quiet. She told me that she's usually very outgoing and vivacious, but that she felt her role on this trip was just to observe. Fair enough.
She does, however, have a savage sense of humor when she chooses to show it. Unfortunately, I can't relate the comment that left me in private hysterics, because the joke was at the expense of another one of our media fellows. Trust me, though, it was funny.
Anyway, Jennie is a photographer, and took some wonderful photos on our trip. She graciously said we could use any photo we liked, so long as we credited it to her. She took this photo I'm posting here at the Clore Garden of Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
The main takeaway from that visit beyond this photo is that if you're chugging back large doses of anti-oxident vitamins, knock it off:
Antioxidants are sold over the counter everywhere. They're added to food, drink and face cream. But according to Prof. Nava Dekel of the Biological Regulation Department, we still don't have a complete understanding of how they act in our bodies. New research by Dekel and her team, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), has revealed a possible unexpected side effect of antioxidants: They might cause fertility problems in females.
Common antioxidants include vitamins C and E. These work by eliminating molecules called reactive oxygen species that are produced naturally in the body. Stress can cause these chemically active molecules to be overproduced; in large amounts they damage cells indiscriminately. By neutralizing these potentially harmful substances, antioxidants may, theoretically, improve health and slow down the aging process.
But when Dekel and her research team including her former and present Ph.D. students Dr. Ketty Shkolnik and Ari Tadmor applied antioxidants to the ovaries of female mice, the results were surprising: ovulation levels dropped precipitously. That is, very few eggs were released from the ovarian follicles to reach the site of fertilization, compared to those in untreated ovaries.
Dekel was of the opinion that you should knock it off even if you're not trying to get pregnant. Her instinct was that these are obviously very powerful drugs, we just don't fully understand what exactly they do, and it's unwise to play around with them. A daily multivitamin, maybe okay, she said. She takes one. Mega-doses? Don't do it.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Photo Credit: Jennie E. Devore (With Bonus Wisdom About Multivitamins)
There's very little evidence supporting multivitamin consumption as well. However, the health benefits of consuming fish oil for omega-3 fatty acids have been well documented.
May '10
Re: Photo Credit: Jennie E. Devore (With Bonus Wisdom About Multivitamins)
I just watched this; Devore mentions Ricochet--nice product placement!
http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2011/03/video-israels-knesset-channel.html
Re: Photo Credit: Jennie E. Devore (With Bonus Wisdom About Multivitamins)
Ricochet is Israel's favorite new media website, you know.
Oct '10
Re: Photo Credit: Jennie E. Devore (With Bonus Wisdom About Multivitamins)
I take a somewhat different approach to nutritional supplements. Anent Vitamin C, it is interesting that among the vast majority of species who synthesise their own (we are in the minority who don't), they have blood levels of ascorbic acid much higher than those from our RDI of Vitamin C. Yes, the RDI will keep you from having scurvy. Is it optimal for overall health? That's a much more complicated question. In any case, you can't overdose on Vitamin C—it's water soluble and you'll excrete any excess.
The big one, as I see it is Vitamin D. Based on blood serum measurements, most people in temperate climates are deficient in Vitamin D, and this leads directly to osteoporosis (as Vitamin D3 mediates calcium metabolism). Excess Vitamin D is toxic; the way to manage this is to ask your doctor to order a 25-OH D test the next time your blood is drawn. You're looking for a level around 60; adjust your supplements accordingly. Many doctors have never heard of this test, but if you're persistent, you can get it.
Edited on Mar 22, 2011 at 4:37pm