07.19.09
A carnitine supplement: “propionyl-L-carnitine”
We decided to stock this form of carnitine from Jarrow after we reviewed some data suggesting that it may get into muscle tissue more readily and therefore be a more effective form of this nutrient, which is essential in turning fat into energy in the body.
See also the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Complementary Medicine library, which describes “propionyl-L-carnitine” as the form “often used in studies for heart disease and peripheral vascular disease”:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/carnitine-l-000291.htm
Read more details in the NYBC entry for GPLC Glyco-Carn
07.12.09
28 billion doses of acetaminophen per year sold in the US; liver damage caused by acetaminophen leads to 400 deaths and 42,000 hospitalizations/year; why not recommend NAC (N-acetylcysteine) as antidote?
We read with interest in the New York Times on July 1 that the FDA had convened a panel to advise on how to deal with the medical problems arising from the extraordinary popularity of acetaminophen (most commonly recognized tradename: Tylenol) in the US.
Since acetaminophen is often part of a combination medication, the potential for people to accidentally overdose on it is ever present. Overdoses of acetaminophen now represent the leading cause of liver damage in the US. In hopes of reducing some of these accidents, the FDA advisory panel voted to recommend lowering the highest allowable dose of acetaminophen in over-the-counter pills like Tylenol; the panel also voted to recommend a ban on some narcotics that typically are paired with acetaminophen.
Our thought, as in the past on this blog: why not encourage drug manufacturers to pair acetaminophen with NAC (N-acetylcysteine), a known antidote to acetaminophen poisoning, widely used for that purpose in Europe? Certainly we recommend to NYBC members that if they must used acetaminophen, they also take NAC for protection as well.
07.01.09
B vitamins for eye health
A heart disease study sponsored by the NIH has also yielded some interesting information about the relationship between B vitamins and eye health. The research study, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, found that taking a mixture of B vitamins, including B-6, folic acid and B-12, lowered the chance of middle-aged women developing macular degeneration (a common form of vision loss in older adults) by one-third. The study, which tracked more than 5000 women age 40 and older, was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Feb. 23, 2009.
Note that NYBC stocks this B vitamin supplement:
B-right includes folic acid, B-6 and B-12; one of the rationales for its formulation is to prevent buildup of the chemical homocysteine, which in studies has been associated with heart attacks.
