CLA, Wrinkle Cure, Creatine, A and E Lotion, DMAE

Vitamin Express now carries "The Wrinkle Cure", an excellent new book by Dr. Nicholas Perricone. The Winkle Cure includes extensive information on how nutrients can help us to increase and maintain the health and youthfulness of our skin.  (For more information about Dr. Perricone's book, click here.)

A fantastic new skin care lotion from Molecular Biologics is also now available. It is called Renewal A&E Lotion, and it contains the ingredients widely recognized to visibly reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging, including dryness. Because it uses lipid micro-sphere break-through technology, you will find that this highly emollient serum disappears directly into the skin with light finger massaging!  Renewal A&E Lotion contains:

  • Vitamin A reduces wrinkles by working to repair DNA in individual cells. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant and promotes the growth of new cells.
  • Vitamin E is also an anti-oxidant, preventing destruction of the lipid part of the cell membranes.
  • Ascorbyl DMAE (Dimethylaminoethanol) is a special form of Vitamin C with DMAE. It functions to strengthen, smooth, and elasticize tissues and transport nutrients to the cells.
  • Aloe Vera is a plant that promotes healing and increases circulation to the skin. It has been used for centuries to treat various types of skin damage including burns.
  • Alpha Lipoic Acid is another anti-oxidant. It helps the body use and re-use Vitamin C in collagen synthesis.
  • Propyl Gallate is a catechin, originally identified in Green Tea Extract. Catechins trap free radicals that damage the skin.

These nutrients are delivered directly to the cells by a lipid bilayer liposome similar to the body's own cell membranes. These liposomes facilitate transport of nourishment into the skin cells. This technology provides immediate results as the skin cells are plumped and the membranes enlarged, reducing fine lines and wrinkles. Try Renewal A&E Lotion today!

Click here for more information about Renewal A&E Lotion.

Myths About Dietary Supplements

You've heard these statements on newscasts, read them in newspapers, perhaps heard them on the street. They've been propagated by men in suits on The Lehrer Newshour, and by nutritional guests on call-in radio shows:

  • Dietary supplements are virtually unregulated.
  • The passage of DSHEA has weakened FDA's enforcement powers over the dietary supplement industry.
  • The FDA has limited authority over the ingredients used in dietary supplements.
  • Dietary supplement makers don't have to follow the same strict good manufacturing practices as do other consumer products.
  • There is not enough control over dietary supplement claims.
  • The advertising of dietary supplements is not adequately regulated at the federal level.
  • There is not enough scientific data to support the safety and efficacy of most dietary supplements.

The only problem is, these statements are false! Apparently, the truth is not sexy enough for airtime:

  • Dietary supplements are carefully regulated and have been for years.
  • The passage of DSHEA strengthened the FDA's enforcement powers over the dietary supplement industry.
  • The FDA has regulatory authority over the ingredients used in dietary supplements.
  • Dietary supplement makers have to follow the same strict good manufacturing practices as do other consumer products.
  • Dietary supplement claims are highly controlled.
  • The advertising of dietary supplements is monitored and regulated at the federal level by the FTC.
  • There is a vast amount of both historical and recent scientific data to support the safety and efficacy of most dietary supplements.

Why this obfuscation and deception happens is not always clear. But the facts are easy to understand. The newly-formed Dietary Supplement Education Alliance has published an expose of these claims. What follows is a summary; for their full article, see http://www.supplementinfo.org.

Myth: Dietary supplements are virtually unregulated.
Fact: The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), enacted in 1994, gives considerable powers to the federal government to assure the safety of dietary supplements as well as the accuracy of their claims and labeling. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that the company's products are safe and properly labeled prior to marketing.

Myth: The passage of DSHEA has weakened FDA's enforcement powers over the dietary supplement industry.
Fact: The passage of DSHEA actually increased FDA's enforcement powers over dietary supplements by establishing new labeling and potency standards and by making violations of these standards a crime. Following DSHEA, FDA has the power to:

  • Refer for criminal action any company that sells a dietary supplement that is toxic or unsanitary
  • Seize dietary supplements that pose "an unreasonable or significant risk of illness or injury"
  • Stop a new dietary ingredient from being marketed if the FDA does not receive enough safety data in advance
  • Stop the sale of an entire class of dietary supplements if they pose an imminent public health hazard
  • Require manufacturers to certify and substantiate their claims
  • Require dietary supplements to meet strict manufacturing guidelines including potency, cleanliness and stability

Myth: The FDA has limited authority over the ingredients used in dietary supplements.
Fact: Under law, a manufacturer must provide safety data to the FDA in advance, and at any time, the FDA may act to require a recall of a product.

Myth: Dietary supplement makers don't have to follow the same strict good manufacturing practices as do other consumer products.
Fact: This is absolutely false. The dietary supplement industry follows the same guidelines that are in effect for the food industry to ensure that controlled, sanitary manufacturing practices are in place and that the resulting products contain what is on the label. Failure to do so is a violation of the law and can lead to criminal prosecution. Additionally, new GMP regulations specifically for supplements are voluntarily being developed by the industry.

Myth: There is not enough control over dietary supplement claims.
Fact: Under current law, makers of dietary supplements are limited to "structure-function" claims, and are prohibited from making claims that their products are intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent a disease. Furthermore, manufacturers must have substantiation that the statement is truthful and not misleading and must notify the FDA within 30 days after first using the claim.

Myth: The advertising of dietary supplements is not adequately regulated at the federal level.
Fact: The Federal Trade Commission has enforcement authority over claims about dietary supplements in advertising, infomercials, web sites and direct marketing materials. The FTC has the power to challenge and stop advertising, investigate complaints or questionable trade practices, work to require a company to cease and desist making unsubstantiated claims, seek injunctions to stop false advertisements, and seek civil penalties from violators

Myth: There is not enough scientific data to support the safety and efficacy of most dietary supplements
Fact: There already exists a huge body of scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of dietary supplements.  In the last 10 years, nutritional research has exploded, and each year, numerous studies are published in major medical journals such as The Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Cardiology, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, the newly-created Office of Dietary Supplements within the National Institutes of Health focuses specifically on advancing the study of dietary supplements in this country.

(Excerpted from "Myths & Facts About Dietary Supplements" by The Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, http://www.supplementinfo.org/industry/myths.htm)

CLA Reduces Body Fat - Again

One reason obesity was less prevalent in the United States in 1950: Fifty years ago, cows ate grass. Through the regular consumption of beef and dairy fats, people naturally obtained Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), an important fatty acid. Nowadays, most cattle eat grain-based feeds. According to dairy scientist Larry Satter, dairy cattle that feed on grain, hay, and silage have as little as 20% the amount of CLA in their milk as do cattle that graze. So even Americans who still eat beef and dairy are receiving drastically reduced amounts of CLA. (Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706) 

Now comes another study that shows the weight-loss benefits of taking supplemental CLA. Published in the International Journal of Obesity (Volume 25, Issue 8, August 2001), it shows that CLA reduces abdominal fat among men classified as abdominally obese. The study participants taking CLA lost an average of one inch from their waistlines in a four-week period. The effective amount was 4.2 grams of CLA per day, in divided doses. And interestingly, none of the participants changed their eating or exercise habits during the trial period. (The International Journal of Obesity, www.iaso.org.)

This result supports an earlier study, published in December 2000, in which CLA reduced body fat and preserved muscle mass. Additionally, according to Mary Shomon, the thyroid expert, CLA has other benefits, including increasing the metabolic rate, enhancing muscle growth, lowering cholesterol, lowering insulin resistance, and reducing food-induced allergic reactions. (See: http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa011101a.htm)

Creatine Gives Powerful Lift to Rehab

A recent study in the October issue of the Journal of Physiology showed that daily supplementation with creatine accelerated the recovery of leg muscle size and performance after being immobilized in a cast for two weeks.  Researchers found that dietary creatine taken before immobilization and then throughout the rehab process quickened the body's return to normal appearance and function, and the casted legs displayed more muscle power and a greater regain of muscle size.

Subjects receiving Creatine took 20 grams of creatine monohydrate (divided into 5 gram doses) during the 2-week immobilization period. After the cast was removed the dose was reduced to 15 grams/day for the first three weeks of rehab, and then 5 grams/day for the final 7 weeks.

Dr. Phillip W. Harvey, Chief Science Officer and Director of Science and Quality Assurance for the National Nutritional Foods Association, commented,  "The role of creatine as a therapeutic aid in the treatment of various neuromuscular diseases and in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries has significant promise and should be studied further." (Source: http://www.supplementinfo.org)

News from Vitamin Express

Our new Menlo Park store is open for business. The store is loaded with a huge selection of products, at great prices, and staffed by the knowledgeable staff that you've come to expect from Vitamin Express. Visit us soon!

The BEST of health to you!
Michael LeVesque, President

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products listed in this newsletter are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult with your physician before taking any of these products.