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From The September 2000 Issue of Nutrition Science News
Nutrition Q&A
with Dan Lukaczer, N.D.
Can Coffee Promote Osteoporosis?
Q: A customer told me that the caffeine in coffee can increase the risk of osteoporosis. Is that true, and if so should I steer people away from caffeinated teas?
Your customer is right, but your assumption is not. Coffee, and it seems the caffeine in particular, causes an acute increase in urinary calcium excretion and therefore may increase the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture.1 Caffeinated teas, however, appear to be a different story. A recent retrospective study conducted in Britain looked at tea consumption and the risk of bone fracture. In the study, 1,256 women 65 to 76 years old who drank tea had higher bone mineral density (a measure of bone health) than those who did not drink tea.2
Tea contains many different nutrients, including various flavonoids such as catechins, that are not present in coffee. One or a combination of those ingredients may have a protective effect. Considering that tea drinking has also been shown to have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, teatime may be a good habit to develop.
Glutamine Helps Treat AIDS
Q: I've heard about glutamine's use in muscle-wasting conditions. Would it therefore help AIDS patients?
A: The answer appears to be yes. Muscle wasting and weight loss commonly occur in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and increased wasting is related to decreased lengths of survival.
Glutamine has traditionally been thought of as a nonessential amino acid—meaning it can be produced in the body and so theoretically you should not need to supplement with it. However, laboratory and clinical data suggest that it may be essential during infection and injury; that is, during these times the body's glutamine needs may outstrip production and a relative glutamine deficiency state may develop.3
A recent 12-week experiment conducted at Harvard Medical School in Boston studied glutamine supplementation—within an antioxidant mix—on 26 patients with HIV. Patients were randomized in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. All had more than 5 percent weight loss since contracting HIV. Half the group received 40 g glutamine along with 800 mg vitamin C, 500 IU vitamin E, 27,000 IU beta-carotene, 280 mcg selenium and 2.4 g N-acetyl cysteine. Both groups were monitored by a nutritionist and received the same calorie and protein content.
Over the 12 weeks, the glutamine/antioxidant group gained 2.2 kg in body weight (3.2 percent), whereas the control group gained 0.3 kg (0.4 percent). The authors concluded that supplementation with glutamine and antioxidants provides a highly cost-effective therapy for the rehabilitation of HIV-positive patients with weight loss.4
Use Glandulars With Care
Q: What are glandulars and what do they do?
A: Glandulars generally refer to specially prepared extracts of various animals' gland tissues such as adrenal, pancreas, spleen, thymus and thyroid. They are believed to supply the raw material needed to enhance function of the corresponding gland in the human.
For instance, the thymus gland is important in immune function. Thymus gland extracts from cows have been supplemented to enhance immune function in humans. In vitro and in vivo studies of specially prepared thymus extracts show the glandular induces maturation of T-lymphocytes, which are a measure of immune function.5 Additionally, in vitro studies show they enhance function of mature T-lymphocytes with cascading effects on improving B-cell and macrophage functions.5
Thyroid glandulars from pigs, standardized to the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, are used as prescription medications in clinical medicine to treat thyroid disorders. Pancreatic supplements from various animals, generally pigs, have long been used by nutritionally minded doctors to support people who may have a deficiency in digestive enzymes, which are produced in the pancreas.
Animal glandular extracts remain popular, but, apart from the above, relatively few studies have actually investigated the ability of these extracts to enhance human glandular function. While the theory seems sound, I would urge caution in the use of these products. First, many of the active components in the glandular extract may be broken down in the gut before being absorbed and would therefore have little benefit. Second, various glands are depots for toxins from the environment, and ingesting them can expose a person to concentrated sources of these toxins. Third, viral particles also may be lying dormant in glandular tissue, and care should be taken to not transmit these kinds of infectious agents. My recommendation is to use glandular extracts only under the guidance of a practitioner who is well versed in this area.
Dan Lukaczer, N.D., is director of clinical services at the Functional Medicine Research Center, a division of HealthComm International Inc., in Gig Harbor, Wash.
References
1. Thompson WG. Coffee: brew or bane? Am J Med Sci 1994 Jul;308(1):49-57.
2. Hegarty VM, et al. Tea drinking and bone mineral density in older women. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Apr;71(4):1003-7.
3. Wilmore DW, Shabert JK. Role of glutamine in immunologic responses. Nutrition 1998 Jul-Aug;14(7-8):618-26.
4. Shabert JK, et al. Glutamine-antioxidant supplementation increases body cell mass in AIDS patients with weight loss: a randomized, double-blind controlled trial. Nutrition 1999 Nov-Dec;15(11-12):860-4.
5. Kouttab NM, et al. Thymomodulin: biological properties and clinical applications. Med Oncol Tumor Pharmacother 1989;6(1):5-9.
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