Winter Maladies: Natural Approaches
June Russell's Health Facts
Health Benefits of Alcohol Questioned — Specific Topics
Vitamin A, Alcohol Use, and Osteoporosis
A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that long-term consumption of a diet high in vitamin A can increase the risk of hip fractures in post menopausal women. When vitamin A from supplements was considered separately, there was no statistically significant association with fracture risk, although there was a trend toward increasing the risk with increasing levels of supplementation. Beta-carotene was not included in the analysis. While vitamin A toxicity does adversely affect bone, the amounts required to produce such effects are extremely large - 33,300 IU's per day.
Some or all of the foods high in vitamin A can promote the development of osteoporosis for reasons unrelated to the vitamin A. Breakfast cereals contain a lot of sugar which has been shown to increase calcium excretion in humans and cause bone loss in animals. Margarine delivers vitamin A but also contains high quantities of trans-fatty acids, which can create a deficiency of nutrients necessary for bone health. Liver is a key source of vitamin A but is also known to carry environmental toxins such as lead and cadmium, both of which contribute to osteoporosis. Although milk's calcium content is high, it is not very good for bones because it is a major source of dietary phosphorus, which has been known to compromise bone health.
The Nurse's study concluded that women who drank two or more glasses of milk per day actually increased their risk of fractures when compared with women who drank less that one glass per week. The recommendation by Allan Spreen, MD, HSI Panelist, is 10,000 IU's of vitamin A (not synthetic). Studies suggest that a safe level of vitamin A is 25,000 IU's for most healthy adults and 15,000 IU's for individuals over the age of 65. However, taking large amounts of beta-carotene does not lead to vitamin A toxicity because there is a limit to the amount that can be converted to vitamin A.
Charles Lieber, MD, a scientist who has been studying beta-carotene and alcohol consumption at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center, says moderate drinkers who take in more than 15 mgs of beta-carotene a day may be placing themselves at an increased risk for liver damage because of an interaction between the alcohol and the vitamin A.
{Sources: hsibaltimore.com, "Challenging the Vitamin A - Hip Fracture Link," Prevention magazine, Healthwell.com Daily News, by Alan Gaby, MD, an expert in nutritional therapies, served as a member of the Ad-Hoc Advisory Panel of the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative medicine, author of "Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis" (1994) and other books, February 2002}