Published Articles: Newsweek - January 16, 2006

The Gurus' Guide To Daily Nutrition

Five experts talk about what they take and offer tips for getting the vitamins and nutrients you need.

	Timothy Archibald for Newsweek
	Bruce Ames PROFESSOR, U.C., BERKELEY He takes: Acetyl-carnitine, lipoic acid and a multivitamin Tip: Try to eat well, but take a daily multivitamin for insurance

By Jennifer Barrett
Newsweek

Jan. 16, 2006 issue - If you eat a well-balanced diet, do you need to take a multivitamin, too? What about supplements such as calcium and fish oils? Can too many vitamins be dangerous? Each week, it seems, there's a new study trumpeting the benefits—or the risks—of certain supplements. The findings can be confusing, even contradictory. So we went straight to the sources and asked five doctors who are leaders in the nutrition field what they take each day. The consensus: follow a nutrient-rich diet, but take a daily multivitamin as well (it can't hurt and often helps). Each "guru" offered additional advice on supplements. Here's a rundown of their recommendations, regimens and their reasoning.

If you want to age faster, a good way to do it is to be short of some vitamin or mineral. I think everyone in the world should take a multivitamin as insurance. I take one daily. Nutritionists don't like the idea of telling people to take pills. They want people to eat better instead. But they've been trying for 25 years to change people's eating habits without much success. You need to have a good diet with lots of vitamins and minerals, but we know lots of people don't. So I say, try and eat well but take a multivitamin.

Everyone knows that diet is an important factor in cancer. We know obesity is a health disaster. There are 40 different diseases, including cancer, that are linked to obesity. The 10 leading sources of calories in the United States begin with sugary soft drinks, doughnuts and cake. There are very few vitamins and minerals in them. There's not a vegetable in sight on that list, except for french fries and potato chips. Obesity is the result of a bad diet.

I also take a pill that has acetyl-carnitine and lipoic acid, which are used in the mitochondria (the cell's energy center). In our studies, we gave both of them to rats and their brains functioned better and their immune systems improved—lots of good stuff. The pill is sold by Juvenon [a company Ames formed to license the combination of cell-rejuvenating supplements]. But I won't take money from the company. It all goes to clinical trials. I didn't feel very different after taking the pill. But I am a pretty spry 77. We've just completed a human trial now. The data hasn't been released publicly yet, but I can tell you: it was successful.

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