Nutrition researcher Maret Traber of Oregon State University recently reviewed studies of possible explanations of the interaction between vitamin E and bleeding in an article published in the November 2008 issue of Nutrition Reviews. Scientists have known for more than 50 years that excess vitamin E promotes bleeding by interfering with vitamin K, which is essential in blood clotting. However, they haven’t been able to pinpoint how the two vitamins interact.

According to Traber, one of the most compelling studies of the benefits of vitamin E is the Women’s Health Study, in which 40,000 healthy women, 45 and older, took 600 IU vitamin E supplements or a placebo every other day for 10 years. Women taking the supplements had 24 percent fewer deaths from heart disease. Vitamin E’s protective effect appeared even stronger in women 65 and older, the study found. Those taking the vitamin experienced a 26 percent reduction in cardiovascular events and a 49 percent reduction in cardiovascular deaths.
 
“That’s a significant benefit,” Traber said. Yet, she added, “In some people high doses of vitamin E increase the tendency to bleed. Women enrolled in the study had an increase in nose bleeds.”
 
To lessen the bleeding risk, the US-based Food and Nutrition Board in 2000 set the upper tolerable limit for daily vitamin E intake at 1500 IU.
 
Traber’s research suggests that a shared metabolic pathway in the liver causes vitamins E and K to interact. Vitamin K in the liver appears to diminish as vitamin E increases.
 
“Several different explanations could account for the interaction between the two vitamins,” Traber said. “We need more research to understand the delicate balance between vitamins E and K.”

Embria® Health Sciences (Ankeny, IA) in October has launched The EpiCor® Rural Senior Health Project, providing 4,000 senior citizens in rural areas of Iowa and Idaho with 20,000 bottles of the immune-balancing supplement EpiCor. Embria's partnership in the project with non-profit organizations Nourish America and the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) will support seniors' immune health during the cold and flu season through both wellness education as well as the donation of EpiCor, which has been clinically proven to reduce the number of sick days by 26 percent, according to the company.

In addition to learning strategies for staying well this winter, up to 2,000 local seniors and their family members will receive a free five-month supply of EpiCor. On November 1, an additional 10,000 bottles of EpiCor were distributed via select senior and community centers in rural areas throughout Idaho.

For more information call (877) EMBRIA-1 or visit www.embriahealth.com.

Coburn & Coffman PLLC, a two-man law firm from Washington DC, has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent the addition of steviol glycosides (SGs) to food, maintaining that such ingredients are drugs.

The petition focused on the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, maintaining that stevia has been studied for therapeutic uses such as effects on blood pressure and blood sugar levels. The law firm, potentially on behalf of undisclosed clients, cited clinical trials supporting these uses.

Coburn & Coffman’s client is currently unknown. “I would suspect that whoever is behind this petition is afraid of stevia as a competitor in the marketplace,” said industry attorney Marc Ullman, “and that they want to keep their identity a secret so that they do not feel the consumer backlash that would be inevitable if people found out who was behind this.”

According to Stephen Daniells, PhD of NutraIngredients.com, the FDA was asked to:

• Seize, and obtain injunctions against distribution of, food other than dietary supplements to which have been added stevioside, rebaudioside A, or any other steviol glycoside, on the grounds that such violate § 301 (ll);
• Refuse admission to the United States of any food other than dietary supplement that appears to contain a steviol glycoside, on the ground that such food appears to violate § 301(ll); and
• Abstain from issuing a letter of no objection to any pending GRAS notification that addressed any use of steviol glycoside in food, on the ground that issuance of such a letter would effectively sanction a violation of law.

“I am hopeful that the FDA will recognize the extremely overreaching nature of this petition, but it definitely illustrates the kind of challenge that the supplement industry could face in the future,” said Ullman. “If this petition was granted, the number of food ingredients that would be subject to a similar attack is overwhelming.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scheduled a Nutrition Roundtable Discussion on Friday, December 12, 2008 from 1 p.m. until 3:30 pm, at the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Harvey W. Wiley Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD.

The purpose of the Roundtable is to communicate FDA's nutrition activities and provide status updates in the following tentative list of topics: functional foods, health claims, evidence based review guidance, Critical Path project on biomarkers for use in health claims, front-of-pack labeling, the collaboration between FDA and USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion for nutrition education and outreach, "Spot the Block" for 'Tweens' children nine to 12 years, and other issues, for example, sodium status and implementation of section 912 of FDAAA.

The Roundtable format will consist of a panel of experts led by Stephen Sundlof, DVM, PhD, CFSAN director, with remarks from David Acheson, MD, FDA associate commissioner, and a question and answer session. Information regarding registration is posted online at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/regist11.html.

The San Francisco County Superior Court ruled on Thursday, October 8 that Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps could proceed with its lawsuit seeking to compel “organic cheater” companies and certifiers to drop, or stop certifying, deceptive organic label and brand claims. 

Defendants include Avalon Organics, Jason Pure, Natural & Organic, Nature’s Gate Organics, Kiss My Face Obsessively Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Head Organics, Desert Essence Organics and Stella McCartney’s CARE 100% Organic. The defendant certifiers are OASIS and Ecocert. Estee Lauder is also a defendant due to its expressed intent to enter the market under its Aveda brand with allegedly misleading OASIS-certified organic products.
 
The Court ruled against the defendants’ arguments that Dr. Bronner’s, in its complaint filed with the Court, had not sufficiently spelled out how actual consumers, the company and competition in the organic personal care industry have been hurt by the defendants’ deceptive practices. The Court also rejected a claim by OASIS that its certification could be protected as free speech.

Over the summer, Dr. Bronner’s settled with former defendants Ikove and Juice Beauty. 

Visit www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare to review the Case Management Conference document filed jointly by Dr. Bronner’s and the defendants; the Court’s recent rulings; and a detailed comparison of US and European natural; and organic personal care standards. 

California voters passed Proposition 2 on November 4 and subsequently, the Golden State became the first in the nation to outlaw confining cages for egg-laying hens, according to the Los Angeles Times. Proposition 2 also will ban restrictive pens for veal calves and pregnant sows. This initiative, which requires that animals be provided room to turn around, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs, will go into effect 2015.

The paper reported that there are few veal producers in the state and the largest pork producer voluntarily plans to eliminate small crates. Because of this, the law will mostly affect the state's 20 million egg-laying hens.

Supporters see the measure, which was championed by the Humane Society of the US and the California Veterinary Medical Association, as a move away from cruel treatment of animals raised for food.

Opponents, including large egg farmers in the state and across the country, and the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, decried the measure as economically disastrous for California egg producers.