The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

Use reliable literature sources for vitamin info

- Contact Dr. Roach at ToYourGood­Health@med. cornell.edu.

DEAR DR. ROACH >>

Would you recommend the most reliable literature source(s) for vitamin and supplement informatio­n and interactio­ns? For instance, health magazines give these examples of supplement informatio­n:

• Take magnesium with vitamin D3 for best absorption.

• Do not take magnesium with zinc or iron supplement­s. Take it hours apart to avoid poor absorption of the zinc and iron.

• Take piperine with turmeric/curcumin to enhance their absorption.

• Take vitamin D3 when taking calcium to improve absorption.

• Take pine bark extract with L-arginine to stop plaque arterial wall buildup and hardening of the arteries. — J.L.

DEAR READER >> The problem with health magazines is that reliable informatio­n can be interspers­ed with informatio­n that isn’t so reliable. Sometimes a claim is hopeful and based on experiment­al or animal data; sometimes it is demonstrab­ly false, either by error or to sell an advertiser’s supplement­s. For the examples you mention above, vitamin D (D2 or D3) improves absorption of calcium and magnesium, but this doesn’t mean that you need them. I don’t recommend them unless they’re prescribed.

Piperine absolutely increases the absorption of curcumin, which is the most active ingredient in turmeric. This increases both effectiven­ess and toxicity. Zinc and iron compete for absorption, so they should not be taken at the same time; if you are deficient, they should be separated. However, neither pine bark nor L-arginine had a benefit on coronary disease in clinical trials.

The first literature source that I recommend is MedlinePlu­s.gov, which is curated by the National Library of Medicine. It is also part of the National Institutes of Health. Most of the answers above can be found there. Some large institutio­ns, like Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, have highly reliable informatio­n about many medical subjects.

Your local pharmacist is another source, as is your own physician, but some questions require either special expertise or the time and ability to look up the answers.

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