Diet and Optimum Health Conference
The
second LPI Diet and Optimum Health Conference, co-sponsored by
the Oxygen Club of California, will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Portland,
Oregon, from May 21-24. Sessions include presentations by experts on brain
function and neurodegenerative disease, aging, cancer, eye diseases, and
diabetes. A public session on Saturday will feature talks on dietary cancer
prevention, cancer treatment by botanical and dietary supplements, dietary
inhibition of heart disease, the treatment of obesity, and the role of
antioxidants in fruit on brain aging, as well as a presentation by the
recipient of the Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research.
The Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health Research
will be presented at a banquet on Friday evening, May 23rd. This award,
consisting of a medal and $50,000, recognizes innovative and influential
research on the role of diet in the prevention of disease and the role
of oxidative and nitrative stress in disease. The first award was presented
in 2001 to Dr. Bruce Ames of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research
Institute in Oakland, California, for his seminal work on mutation and
the role of micronutrients in cancer and aging. The funding for this year’s
award was generously provided by a donor to LPI who wishes anonymity.
New Book!
An
Evidence-Based Approach to Vitamins and Minerals: Health Benefits and Intake
Recommendations by Jane Higdon, Ph.D., of LPI will be published
by Thieme Medical Publishers in May 2003. The book is based on information
presented on the LPI Micronutrient
Information Center. An Evidence-Based Approach to Vitamins
and Minerals emphasizes peer-reviewed human research, but
also presents experimental results from cell culture or animal studies when
relevant. Results from epidemiological research, especially large, prospective
cohort studies, and reviews and meta-analyses are included. The book is
available from Thieme
Medical Publishers at a price of $59.95. Dr. Higdon has been a research
associate at LPI since 2000. She has degrees in nursing and exercise physiology
and earned a doctorate in nutrition from Oregon State University.
A Major Misquotation
A statement purportedly attributed to Linus Pauling has proliferated on the Internet, often in association with the sale of mineral supplements. The alleged quote is usually akin to “You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.” We are reasonably certain that Pauling never made such a statement for the obvious reason that it is untrue. Pauling was interested in the health effects of micronutrients, especially vitamin C, the vitamin that absorbed his interest for almost thirty years. Throughout his career, Pauling used x-ray diffraction to elucidate the molecular structure of many inorganic substances, such as minerals, and organic substances like proteins. If he had been particularly interested in the health benefits of minerals, he would have focused his research in this direction. There is no evidence in the published literature that he did so. |
Please send any comments,
suggestions, or questions about The Linus Pauling Institute to lpi@oregonstate.edu |