WebProNews

Tag: Vitamin B

  • Stroke Risk Cut by Vitamin B, Shows Study

    Stroke Risk Cut by Vitamin B, Shows Study

    A new study published recently in the journal Neurology has shown that vitamin B supplements could help cut the risk of stroke. The study found that vitamin B could lower the risk of stroke by up to 7%, though several factors could affect outcomes for individual patients.

    “Based on our results, the ability of vitamin B to reduce stroke risk may be influenced by a number of other factors such as the body’s absorption rate, the amount of folic acid or vitamin B12 concentration in the blood, and whether a person has kidney disease or high blood pressure,” said Xu Yuming a co-author of the study and researcher at Zhengzhou University.

    Yuming and his colleagues looked at 14 different clinical trials covering nearly 55,000 patients. All of the studies showed some benefit to stroke risk by taking vitamin b.

    Though the study found a reduction in stroke risk, it did not find a similar correlation for reducing the severity of strokes that do occur or the risk of deth from them. The results also contradict some previous studies, many of which have found conflicting data on whether vitamin B is good for overall heart health.

    “Previous studies have conflicting findings regarding the use of vitamin B supplements and stroke or heart attack,” said Yuming. “Some studies have even suggested that the supplements may increase the risk of these events.”

  • Stroke Risk Possibly Reduced by Vitamin B

    Stroke Risk Possibly Reduced by Vitamin B

    Stroke risk may be reduced by taking Vitamin B, a new report says. However, Previous research has yielded conflicting findings on whether taking vitamin B supplements affects the risk of stroke or heart attack at all, and some studies have even concluded that taking vitamin B supplements may actually increase the risk, according to the review authors.

    According to Medicinenet.com , the authors of the new report analyzed the findings of 14 clinical trials that included a total of almost 55,000 people and all of the trials compared vitamin B supplement use with a placebo or very low-dose vitamin B. The participants were followed for a minimum of six months and there were 2,471 strokes among the participants in the studies, all of which showed some benefit of taking vitamin B. Redorbit reports that vitamin B has been found to lower homocysteine levels, a molecule in the blood which aids in blood clotting. With lower levels of this molecule, the risk of a clot running through the blood stream and lodging in the brain is thereby reduced.

    Vitamin B supplements reduced the risk of stroke by 7 percent, but did not appear to reduce the severity of strokes or the risk of death from stroke, according to the review. It was published in the Sept.18th online issue of the journal Neurology.

    The researchers also found that folic acid, a supplemental form of folate, also known as B9, that is common in fortified cereals, appeared to reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin B and that vitamin B12 had no effect on stroke risk.

    “Based on our results, the ability of vitamin B to reduce stroke risk may be influenced by a number of other factors, such as the body’s absorption rate, the amount of folic acid or vitamin B12 concentration in the blood, and whether a person has kidney disease or high blood pressure,” review author Xu Yuming, of Zhengzhou University in China, said in a journal news release. “Before you begin taking any supplements, you should always talk to your doctor,” Yuming added.

    One expert agreed, noting that strokes can be caused by many varying factors.

    “Ischemic strokes can have many different causes, the most common being hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity,” said Dr. Rafael Alexander Ortiz, director of neuro-endovascular surgery and stroke at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “There is a group of patients that may suffer a stroke due to deficiency of vitamins and enzymes. It is appropriate to perform a comprehensive work-up, including [for] vitamin deficiencies, in patients that have suffered a stroke.”

    Another expert said the findings are important. Dr. Albert Favate, director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City said, “[The report] identifies a substance which is readily available and has been demonstrated to have a positive effect in stroke risk reduction in certain population subgroups. The article also reflects the increased public thirst for dietary prevention of stroke.”

    There are other ways to get B vitamins into the body other than supplements. Vitamin B, a group of 8 vitamins, can be found in unprocessed foods and meat. Foods like beef, cheese, crustaceans, eggs, fish and even fortified cereals and soy are all high in B vitamins.

  • FDA: Steroids Found in Vitamin B Supplement

    The FDA has a warning out for consumers of vitamin B dietary supplements: one brand in particular has been found to contain two different types of anabolic steroids.

    Healthy Life Chemistry by Purity First B-50 is the brand to watch out for, and the FDA cites 29 incident reports in which consumers who took the Healthy Life Chemistry supplements suffered from side effects that included fatigue, muscle cramps and myalgia. The allegations were confirmed when the FDA retrieved samples of the product and laboratory tests revealed the presence of methasterone and dimethazine.

    Further lab tests revealed some individuals had suffered altered liver and thyroid function, and that the supplements had adversely affected their cholesterol levels. If you have used the product yourself, you should seek medical care. Symptoms should be reported to the FDA MedWatch program using this handy online form.

    The supplements, manufactured by Mira Health Products Ltd. in Farmingdale, N.Y., were available both online and in retail stores.

    Howard Sklamberg, director of the FDA’s Office of Compliance in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said that such vitamin supplements “pose a real danger co consumers and are illegal.” If the company continued to sell the B-50 supplement, the FDA has stated it could become liable to criminal prosecution.

    The danger is real enough that several of the consumers were hospitalized, but no one was reported dead or terminally ill from their supplement use.

    Reuters reported that the FDA was first notified of the issue when a physician alerted them to his 20 patients with similar fatigue and muscle pain issues.

    Women who took the supplements saw unusual hair growth and missed menstruation, while male consumers suffered from impotence and were found to have lower testosterone levels.

    Anabolic steroids are known to have a variety of ‘warning signs’ that include acute liver injury, kidney failure, strokes, blood clots, pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. The FDA asks health care professionals to ask their patients about their dietary supplements in the wake of the discovery.