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Remember When Mom Said Take Your Vitamins

By Dr. Victor Gong, Medical Director of 75^th St. & 126^th St. Medical, Ocean Pines Medical & Doctors Weight Control & Wellness centers, Ocean City, MD.

You can listen to the average Medical Doctor who does not support nutrition through supplementation, or you can listen to the Research Scientists who have studied this phenomenon for decades and have proven nutrition through supplementation not only greatly reduces the likelihood of succumbing to serious disease, but can increase your longevity by 20-30 years.

Before you make a decision that will impact the rest of your life, contemplate the following scientific facts regarding nutrition:

• A study of 22,000 male physicians taking 50mg of beta carotene every other day for 6 years resulted in 1/2 the number of Heart Attacks, Strokes, Bypass Surgeries and Cardiac Deaths as compared to those taking a placebo--Jean Carper, Best Selling Author--The Food Pharmacy and Stop Aging Now!
• A 1994 Study at Johns Hopkins University showed taking vitamin supplements in general, but particularly vitamins A, C and E, slashed the risk of Skin Cancer by 70%.
• A study at the New Jersey Medical School showed a group of older healthy people, with no signs of deficiencies, boosted their immune system signi- ficantly, by taking a multivitamin.
• Men taking a multivitamin supplement were only 73% as likely to develop Cataracts as non-vitamin takers, according to a Harvard Medical School study of 17,000 male physicians past age 45.
• The scientific community was wowed by two recent large-scale Harvard studies, both showing that taking vitamin E supplements seems to dramatically reduce the appearance of Heart Disease by over 37%.
• Government data on 11,000 Americans getting about 300 mg of vitamin C (150mg of that from supplements) showed 6 years were added to woman's life and deaths from Cardiovascular Disease alone dropped by over 40% in the male vitamin C takers.
• A German study showed patients with Alzheimer's disease, given 80 mg of Ginkgo Biloba three times a day, had significant improvements in memory, attention, & psychomotor performance after one month.
• Studies of 133,000 people in the U.S. show vitamin E provides protection against Heart Disease; women taking vitamin E for two years cut their risk in half..men taking it for the same period cut their risk by 26%--presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting.

Significant health cost savings could be achieved if US citizens would adapt a healthier lifestyle and utilize nutritional supplements. It is only in the last few years that the US government has required folic acid to be added to food products to nutritional fortify some foods. It has been estimated that 20 billion dollars could have been saved over the last 20 years from the reduction of congenital birth defects by utilizing folic acid supplementation. What a shame. In fact many nations overseas have done so for many years. It is estimated 3 - 4 billion dollars could be saved in the management of cardiovascular diseases if Vitamin E and other antioxidant were taken more regularly. These are only a few examples of how the science of nutritional supplementation has evolved into important mainstream medical information. It is time for American medicine to catch up to the rest of the world when it comes to this technology.

As always, Mom knew best, when she told you to eat your vegetables, get plenty of rest, and take your vitamins.