News, Analysis & Insights on Nutrition, Supplements, and Health
People who have a parent or sibling with colon cancer can markedly reduce their own chances of developing the disease by taking a daily multivitamin that includes folic acid and limiting their intake of alcohol, according to a new study.
Folic acid has received a lot of positive press in recent weeks, and the benefits of the B vitamin continue to hit the headlines. In Canada, the government has just launched a major campaign promoting its effects in combating birth defects.
Despite fierce lobbying which at one stage caused the European Parliament's email system to crash, MEPs yesterday voted to approve plans for a tightening of the safety controls for vitamin supplements.
German chemicals group BASF said it performed well last year and is confident of further growth in 2002 despite difficult trading conditions. All of the company's divisions performed well, despite high raw material prices and the recession.
Hansen Natural Corporation, the US energy and natural drink manufacturer, has reported record sales of $21.6 million (€24.6m) for the final quarter of 2001, up 17.6 per cent on the previous year.
It appears that the research is true - giving vitamins to children can help improve their performance at school. This at least is the claim of The Healthy Foundation, which runs a vitamin supplementation programme called Vitamin Relief USA-Children First.
Research suggesting that teenagers who use herbal products are more likely to go on to use drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol and narcotics has met with an angry response from the herbal products industry.