Nutritional Supplements

Several family members are urging me to take noni juice. Should I listen? ZACHARY A., Altadena The product: If taste were everything, noni juice would be about as popular as bottled plague. The extract of the Polynesian noni fruit (scientific name Morinda citrifolia) tastes like fermented death with strong undertones of stomach acid. But flavor has never been noni's real selling point.

The product: Eye supplements are a hot topic of conversation in Kerry Beebe's optometry office in Brainerd, Minn., right up there with the weather and Frances McDormand trivia. "We field questions about vitamins multiple times a day," says Beebe, chairman of the Clinical Care Group for the American Optometric Assn. Patients mainly want to know if vitamins can help save them from macular degeneration, the leading cause of severe vision loss in America.

Vibrantly colored hibiscus flowers originated in the tropics of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, but today they're a common sight worldwide. Hundreds of species of hibiscus have been identified, with some boasting blooms up to a foot in diameter. In some countries, the papery-petaled flowers are used to make soft drinks and dyes, while other parts of the plant are used as food staples.

The mangosteen, more formally known as Garcinia mangostana, has been dubbed the "queen of tropical fruit" in its native Malaysia. The sweet, white flesh is used to make jam, syrups, juices and ice cream -- or eaten solo to cap off a meal. The burgundy-colored peel is a rich source of xanthones, plant compounds renowned for their powerful antioxidant activity.

Some products advertised online as natural alternatives to impotence drugs such as Viagra illegally contain the same active ingredients as prescription medicines, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. The FDA warned consumers not to buy or use seven of the so-called dietary supplements sold online to treat impotence and enhance sexual performance. The list includes Zimaxx, which FDA testing showed contains sildenafil, the same active ingredient in Viagra. Viagra, made by Pfizer Inc.

The founders of an Orange County company that touted an answer to prostate cancer have been charged with secretly lacing the herbal pill and other products with highly addictive prescription drugs.

Magnesium is sometimes called "nature's calcium channel blocker" because, like that class of heart drugs, the mineral blocks calcium from entering cells, relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. The body uses the essential mineral to maintain healthy bones and muscles, to manufacture proteins and fatty acids and to help the blood clot. Low intake has been linked to allergies, asthma, migraines, heart disease, chronic fatigue and hyperactivity.

Scientists have used a special blend of vitamins and nutrients to stop successive generations of mice from becoming progressively more overweight. The researchers looked at three generations of genetically identical mice that were prone to obesity and found that the offspring got heavier even though they were fed the same diet as their mothers. But the mice didn't get any plumper when that diet was supplemented with folic acid, vitamin B-12, choline and betaine, according to a study published Tuesday in the International Journal of Obesity.

For 25 years, Jeffrey Roberts, a technology consultant in Toronto, battled frequent diarrhea and abdominal pain. Roberts, who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, was unable to attend his children's soccer games and often had to cancel or postpone family vacations. "I'd hold my family back because I'd have a lot of discomfort," he says. But three years ago, he started taking a powdered drink mix that contains eight strains of probiotic bacteria. "It dramatically changed my symptoms," he says.

I've heard that ionized water can cure whatever ails you. Sounds like snake oil to me. MIKE Los Angeles --- The product: Ionized water isn't exactly snake oil. (These days, very few beverages are snake-based.) But because water ionizers can cost several thousand dollars, consumers are right to wonder what they're getting. Water ionizers attach directly to your kitchen faucet. The devices will filter water, infuse it with minerals and zap it with an electric current.

They were some of the most promising medicines of the 1990s -- wonder pills that appeared to fight cancer, heart disease, stroke and other ailments. Laboratory tests and initial studies in people suggested that lowly vitamins could play a crucial role in preventing some of the most intractable illnesses, especially in an aging population.

Adults with a vitamin D deficiency are more likely to die over a certain period than those with high levels, another indication of the nutrient's vital role in guarding against ailments from heart disease to cancer, U.S. researchers said Monday. Several recent studies have shown that vitamin D may protect against heart disease, cancers of the colon and breast, diabetes and tuberculosis. Those with the lowest levels of the "sunshine vitamin" had a 26% increased risk of death over eight years compared with those who had the highest levels, the researchers reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The products: At weight rooms, jogging tracks and football fields across the country, the path to athletic success is often littered with protein bar wrappers and empty protein powder canisters.

Scientists have used a special blend of vitamins and nutrients to stop successive generations of mice from becoming progressively more overweight. The researchers looked at three generations of genetically identical mice that were prone to obesity and found that the offspring got heavier even though they were fed the same diet as their mothers. But the mice didn't get any plumper when that diet was supplemented with folic acid, vitamin B-12, choline and betaine, according to a study published Tuesday in the International Journal of Obesity.

For 25 years, Jeffrey Roberts, a technology consultant in Toronto, battled frequent diarrhea and abdominal pain. Roberts, who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, was unable to attend his children's soccer games and often had to cancel or postpone family vacations. "I'd hold my family back because I'd have a lot of discomfort," he says. But three years ago, he started taking a powdered drink mix that contains eight strains of probiotic bacteria. "It dramatically changed my symptoms," he says.

Americans are increasingly heading to the supplements aisle at the first sign of a sniffle. Some believe that supplements are an effective way to head off a cold or the flu. Others are wary of the side effects associated with over-the-counter drugs, or alarmed about the risks cold medicines appear to pose to children. Sales of cold and flu supplements have grown so much (8% in 2006, compared to 2% for over-the-counter drugs), that more traditional cold and flu brands have taken note.

The recent launch of Kellogg's new protein water, Special K20, aimed at the general consumer, has some nutritionists rolling their eyes. "Most Americans get plenty of protein through their diet," says Nancy Clark, a Boston-based sports nutritionist and author of "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook." Bodybuilders who want extra protein to support and enhance muscle growth have been the primary consumers of high-protein sports products.

The path to healthy aging has plenty of signposts -- eat more fruits and vegetables for their antioxidants, get enough calcium for strong bones, have a few fish meals a week to protect the heart. Here's another signpost that may be less familiar: Make sure you consume enough zinc. Two studies published this year addressed the role of zinc in maintaining health in older people.

Use of vitamins with folic acid -- a dietary supplement that can prevent neural tube birth defects -- declined among Latinas in California from 2002 to 2006, despite a decade-long public health effort that has raised consumption among black, white and Asian women of childbearing age, according to a study released Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration warned parents Thursday not to give babies a liquid herbal supplement marketed as a remedy for colic and teething pain because several bottles tested positive for a parasite that may have sickened a child in Minnesota. The FDA confirmed the presence of cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause diarrhea and intestinal infections, in unopened bottles of apple-flavored Baby's Bliss Gripe Water. The distributor, MOM Enterprises of San Rafael, Calif.