Q: Is the product Vitamin Water Zero a hoax or does it have some redeeming value?
A: My opinion is that this is a scam. There’s no reason to take multivitamins except in some very specific cases and there’s no health benefit proven from drinking vitamins.
Here’s the statement released in mid-June 2010 as part of the new dietary guidelines for Americans: Vitamins
Q: Is there more vitamin K in raw blueberries or in cooked blueberries, such as in pie filling?
A: One cup of raw blueberries is a little higher in Vitamin K than other fruits at 29 micrograms (mcg). According to the USDA, a cup of canned blueberries in heavy syrup has only 16 mcg of Vitamin K. This is likely because some of that cup contains syrup and sugar (the blueberries in syrup come in at 225 calories and the cup of raw fruit is only 84 calories). Raw vs. Cooked Blueberries
Q: In our household we have members with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, reflux, and Coumadin use. Your Real World Diet program sounded like a custom combination could be made to cover all of us. However, the diabetic, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure diets are not choices. . . . What would you suggest we do? Your website could be a lifesaver for all of us.
A: We now know that the most effective diet for all three of the issues you mention is a Mediterranean style diet. There is tremendous research to show that eating this way can effectively treat diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. All of the recipes on the Dr. Gourmet web site are based on Mediterranean diet principles and translate them to more familiar American recipes for you. You can read about this by using The Real World Diet Coaching program, a collection of brief essays on how to eat healthy.
You are correct that a lot of folks who have these sorts of problems also have other challenges like acid reflux or are taking Coumadin (warfarin). This is why we have tagged every recipe to let you know how a dish might affect other conditions. We have set up The Real World Diet planner to create two week meal plans for all the members of your household. Diets for Multiple Conditions
Q: Thank you for your informative article about multivitamin use and breast cancer.I just started taking multivitamins a week ago because I am vegan, live in the Pacific Northwest, and am trying to conceive so I need B12, vitamin D, and folic acid. Would you say that I could interpret this new study to say that I should toss the multivitamins and just take individual supplements for those ingredients I listed above? I would really appreciate your input in this matter as I have PCOS and Endometriosis and therefore have an abundance of estrogen which would seem to place me in higher risk according to this study.
On a side note, are you familiar with the work of Dr. Neal Barnard and his studies on vegan diets and reducing or eliminating diabetes? I read his book and am curious to hear from a nutritionally informed physician (sadly, there are few to call upon) on his validity within the medical community.
A: In a case such as yours it would be good to consult with your Obstetrician about which are the best vitamins to take. You are correct that making sure to get enough folate and Vitamin B12 is both important for women of childbearing age but especially so for you, since you are a vegan. This is the sort of case that the new guidelines speak to. Vegans, Vitamins and Pregnancy
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