MS: Vitamins and Minerals - MedBroadcast.com

Vitamin and mineral therapy - a cure for MS?

"This vitamin and mineral supplement can cure MS!" Have you heard this before? Could claims like this be true?

Based on currently available information, the answer is no. You may see ads where high-dose vitamin or mineral supplements are touted as a cure or treatment for MS. However, there is no good evidence to show that these treatments can help people who already have MS (although there is some evidence that vitamin D may help prevent MS – see "What's the link between vitamin D and MS" in this feature for more information). In fact, high doses of vitamins and minerals can even be harmful to your health. See "Too much of a good thing: can you overdose on vitamins and minerals?" in this feature for more information.

Advertisements for supplements may claim to offer evidence that their products work. This evidence is usually a small study that is not properly designed to look at safety and effectiveness. In studies like this, the positive results may be due to something called the placebo effect.

So what is the placebo effect? A placebo is a "dummy pill," sometimes referred to as a sugar pill, containing no active medication. Studies using placebos randomly put people in different groups: one group gets the actual medication and the other gets the placebo. (The groups are similar to each other except for the treatment they are getting.) If the people taking the placebo get positive results, this is known as the placebo effect. These studies are important to separate out whether the beneficial effects are due to the medication itself or simply to thinking that you are on an active treatment. Some studies indicate that the placebo effect can be as high as 30-40%! If a study doesn't include a placebo, there's no way to tell for sure whether the beneficial effects are due to the medication itself, or just to the placebo effect.

It is important to get enough vitamins and minerals to maintain your health. Usually, a healthy diet that follows Canada's Food Guide and contains a variety of different foods is the best way to get your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. In some cases, your doctor may advise you to take a multivitamin to make sure you are getting the vitamins and minerals you need. If you're concerned about getting enough vitamins or minerals in your diet, talk to your doctor or dietitian.

All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2024. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/healthfeature/gethealthfeature/MS-Vitamins-and-Minerals

What's the link between vitamin D and the risk of MS?

Medication Management

We have known for a number of years that people living closer to the equator have a lower risk of MS than those living further from the equator. Close to the equator, people get more sun exposure, and sun exposure is needed for vitamin D production. Because of this connection, researchers decided to investigate whether vitamin D could protect people from getting MS.

A US study looked at looked at the effects of vitamin D on the risk of MS in over 187,000 female nurses participating in the Nurses' Health Study. Researchers found that women who took daily vitamin D supplements containing at least 400 IU (international units) had a 40% lower risk of getting MS compared with women who did not take vitamin D supplements.

So how does vitamin D work to reduce MS risk? It's not completely understood yet. Vitamin D may help prevent cells in the immune system from attacking the myelin coating of nerves (these attacks lead to nerve damage and MS symptoms).

What do the study results mean to you? First of all, don't reach for the high-dose vitamin D supplements. Health Canada recommends 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day. The amount of vitamin D needed to get a benefit in the study was at least 400 IU per day. This means that you can get this amount of vitamin D through a healthy diet, supplemented by a daily multivitamin (if recommended by your doctor). If you don't have MS, getting at least 400 IU of vitamin D each day may reduce your risk. If you have MS, this study doesn't provide any information about whether vitamin D will help you. However, getting enough vitamin D is good for your overall health.

The study also raises many questions for future research. Does vitamin D reduce MS risk in men too? Can vitamin D help treat the symptoms of MS or slow disease progression in people who already have the condition? What are the roles of other vitamins in preventing or treating MS? When is the best age to start taking vitamin D? Could smaller doses of vitamin D also work? The study was not designed to answer these questions, so more research is needed.

What other vitamins and minerals are important to people with MS?

Medication Management

Here are a few selected vitamins and minerals that are often mentioned to people with MS. For more information on vitamins and minerals not mentioned here, check with your doctor or dietician.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is needed to build and repair tissues, to help wounds heal, and to help the body absorb iron from plant sources. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. Some people believe that vitamin C can help prevent bladder infections, which people with MS are prone to. But most evidence shows that this is not true. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) for vitamin C is 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for adult females. Smokers need an extra 35 mg per day. Food sources of vitamin C include fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin D and calcium: Your body needs calcium to build and maintain healthy bones and teeth. Vitamin D helps your body use calcium. Having strong bones helps prevent osteoporosis, a condition where the bones become thin and break easily. People with MS are more likely to get osteoporosis than those without MS, so prevention is important. Vitamin D also may help prevent MS in people who do not yet have the condition – see "What's the link between vitamin D and the risk of MS?" in this feature for more information. The RDA for calcium for most adults is 1000-1200 mg. The RDA for vitamin D is 600 IU to 800 IU. Food sources of calcium include milk products and calcium-enriched soy products. Vitamin D can be found in fish oils and fortified breads or cereals.

Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12, also called cyanocobalamin, helps with blood cell production and protecting nerves. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage that has similar symptoms to MS. There is no proof that vitamin B12 supplements can improve or prevent MS. But people with MS are more likely to have low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood. Since they already have nerve damage, low vitamin B12 levels could add to this problem. If you have low levels of vitamin B12, your doctor will likely recommend a supplement to prevent nerve damage due to B12 deficiency. Food sources of vitamin B12 include animal products such as eggs, meat, and dairy. The RDA of vitamin B12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms (µg) per day.

Zinc: Zinc is involved in many chemical reactions in the body, including cell division and repair. It is not known whether zinc levels in people with MS are higher or lower than average (there are studies to support both possibilities). Some research suggests that zinc may make MS worse by increasing the activity of the immune system. Until more is known, people with MS should not take more than the RDA of zinc. Zinc's RDA is 11 mg per day for men and pregnant women, and 8 mg per day for women who are not pregnant or breast-feeding.

For good health, people with MS should get their recommended daily allowance (RDA) of all vitamins and minerals. The RDA is the daily dose of a vitamin or mineral needed to prevent a deficiency. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about how much of each vitamin and mineral you should be getting. Don't take high doses of any vitamins or minerals without checking with your doctor first. Many vitamins and minerals can harm your health if you take too much. See "Too much of a good thing: can you overdose on vitamins and minerals?" in this feature for more information.

Too much of a good thing: can you overdose on vitamins and minerals?

Medication Management

If some is good, then more is better, right? Not when it comes to vitamins and minerals. There are 2 reasons why taking more than the recommended daily allowance (RDA; the amount recommended to prevent a vitamin deficiency) is not a good idea.

Reason 1: Higher doses don't add any proven benefits in people with MS. There is no evidence to suggest that high-dose vitamins and minerals help treat or cure MS.

Reason 2: High doses of vitamins and minerals can be dangerous, and too much of one vitamin or mineral can lead to deficiencies in another. Here are a few of the health problems that can be caused by vitamin and mineral overdoses:

Vitamin A: liver damage and increased pressure in the head
Vitamin B6: nerve damage
Vitamin C: stomach upset, diarrhea, and kidney stones
Vitamin D: too much calcium in the blood, liver damage
Vitamin E: blood disorders
Zinc: immune system stimulation (harmful in people with autoimmune diseases such as MS)

So how can you avoid a vitamin or mineral overdose? First, check the label or package insert to see how much of each vitamin or mineral the supplement contains, and how much the RDA is. Remember that you may be getting a double dose if you take 2 supplements that contain the some of the same vitamins or minerals. You will also get some vitamins and minerals from your diet.

It's generally safe to take one multivitamin per day (but check with your doctor to be sure that it is the right product for you). You won't usually have a problem with vitamin or mineral overdose unless you're taking multiple supplements and don't realize that some contain the same ingredients, or taking high doses without consulting your doctor.

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