Oxidative Stress in Fibromyalgia

So I'm stressed and have been described as a radical, so THAT explains a few things!  

Seriously, I very much appreciate how much time you have put into your writings, which come with your background in your formal training in science and as I like to also underscore, combined with a dose of practical life experience looking into chronic illnesse in your family and what YOU think is the way to go about solving it.

I look forward to learning more about this topic and seeing how Lumigrate can help you reach others with your top notch information.  ~~ Mardy

Here is a second article in my series about oxidative stress and fibromyalgia.  Actually, this is a general descriptive article about oxidative stress itself.  I will also have another article on how we can work on reducing oxidative stress in our daily lives.   Robin

In my last article, I shared a number of ways to reduce oxidative stress.  Whether or not you are experiencing fibromyalgia, supplementation using high quality products are key to counter-acting free radicals and thus oxidative stress. 

For more than 50 years, the general public has been led to believe that RDA nutrient levels are adequate…

…but adequate for what? Adequate to prevent clinically obvious nutritional deficiencies like scurvy, beriberi, rickets, and pellagra?

According to the Food and Nutrition Board (under the umbrella of the National Institute of Health) :

” The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all apparently healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group.”

The Food and Nutrition Board further defines “requirement” as:

“…the lowest continuing intake level of a nutrient that, for a specified indicator of adequacy, will maintain a defined level of nutrition in an individual.”

Basically, the RDA is – by definition – the lowest level of nutrient intake necessary to prevent deficiencies. This is clearly important for helping individuals avoid acute deficiency diseases, but it fails to address the issue of optimal nutrition.

It is wonderful that the RDAs have been so successful in reducing blatant deficient diseases (including scurvy, pellagra, rickets and beriberi) to their lowest levels in recorded history. It is also good that products based on RDA amounts help combat deficiency diseases by providing minimal amounts of important vitamins and minerals.

However, as more and more of the general population is able to meet minimal nutrient requirements, new questions arise. For example, are RDA levels of vitamins and minerals enough to help prevent other degenerative diseases?  What about providing protection from oxidative damage?

I believe there are more benefits to nutritional supplementation than merely preventing increasingly rare deficiency diseases.

The important choice now is to use supplements formulated with the most up-to-date nutritional research in mind, which may or may not have relevance to the RDAs. Rather than just looking to prevent total vitamin deficiencies, we must be concerned with the vast majority of people who are “apparently” healthy. Many degenerative diseases and chronic illnesses develop over a lifetime, striking otherwise healthy individuals when they least expect it. or the millions of “apparently” healthy individuals in the world, minimal nutrient intakes may not be adequate to address modern health challenges.

One question that commonly arises is, “if I eat a healthy diet, do I still need to take supplements?” Let it be clearly stated that a healthy diet is a necessary foundation for any program of optimal nutrition, and there is no substitute for eating well. In this context,  nutritional supplements are designed to complement a healthy diet, not replace it.  High quality supplements are designed to provide advanced levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are difficult to obtain from diet alone – levels that individuals can use every day to promote a lifetime of good health.

In June 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association published two articles by health researchers at Harvard University. The articles were entitled “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults“. Through their research, these independent researchers concluded:

“…suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population, especially the elderly. Suboptimal folic acid levels, along with suboptimal levels of vitamins B6 and B12, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, and colon and breast cancer; low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia and fractures; and low levels of the antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, E and C) may increase risk for several chronic diseases.”

The scientific evidence supporting health benefits of nutritional supplements is solid and growing daily, and more health care professionals than ever before are now siding with these conclusions.

Be Well!

Robin

REFERENCES OF INTEREST

 Bendich A, Mallick R, Leader S. Potential health economic benefits of vitamin supplementation. West J Med 1997 May; 166(5):306-12. This study used published relative risk estimates for birth defects, premature birth, and coronary heart disease associated with vitamin intake to project potential annual cost reductions in U.S. hospitalization charges.

Fairfield KM, Fletcher RH. Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults: scientific review. JAMA 2002; 287:3116-3126. CONTEXT: Although vitamin deficiency is encountered infrequently in developed countries, inadequate intake of several vitamins is associated with chronic disease.

Fletcher RH, Fairfield KM. Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults: clinical applications. JAMA 2002; 287:3127-3129. Vitamin deficiency syndromes such as scurvy and beriberi are uncommon in Western societies. However, suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population, especially the elderly.

Kant AK. Consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods by adult Americans: nutritional and health implications. The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Oct; 72(4):929-36. BACKGROUND: Current dietary guidance recommends limiting the intake of energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods, but little is known about recent consumption patterns of these foods.

Patterson BH, Harlan LC, Block G, Kahle L. Food choices of whites, blacks, and Hispanics: data from the 1987 National Health Interview Survey. Nutr Cancer 1995;23(2):105-19. Dietary guidelines posit an association between diet and cancer. Different cancer mortality rates among whites, blacks, and Hispanics may be related to differences in diet.

Starkey LJ, Johnson-Down L, Gray-Donald K. Food habits of Canadians: comparison of intakes in adults and adolescents to Canada’s food guide to healthy eating. Can J Diet Pract Res 2001 Summer;62(2):61-9. Over 25 years have elapsed since national food and nutrient intake data became available in Canada. Our goal was to describe present dietary intakes based on sociodemographic and 24-hour recall dietary interviews with adults and adolescents from households across the country.

Nicklas TA, Baranowski T, Baranowski JC, Cullen K, Rittenberry L, Olvera N. Family and child-care provider influences on preschool children’s fruit, juice, and vegetable consumption. Nutr Rev 2001 Jul;59(7):224-35. Children’s intakes of fruit, juice, and vegetables (FJV) do not meet the recommended minimum of five daily servings, placing them at increased risk for development of cancer and other diseases.