[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning, everyone. We continue to monitor the latest information out of Austin, Texas. Preliminary tests show the potentially fatal poison Ricin has been discovered at a dormitory at the University of Texas in Austin. Two students are reportedly being treated for exposure. We will bring you the latest as the situation develops. In Iraq, sectarian violence continues to flare. And the largely Shiite town of Karbala five people are dead and 31 others injured after a parked car exploded along a busy thoroughfare. Police say they have a suspect in custody, despite a day-long curfew in Baghdad. 14 police commandos were killed in overnight fighting. Do they ever sleep? Some Mardi Gras party goers are probably just now climbing into bed. This is the last big weekend of right of the annual Carnival season. It wraps up this Tuesday, Fat Tuesday. Tourism officials and business owners hope Mardi Gras will boost the area economy. On this morning's "HOUSE CALL," senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at vitamins, and supplements, fact, fiction, and what you need to watch out for. That's today's "HOUSE CALL." And it starts right now.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] Good morning and welcome to HOUSE CALL. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You know, millions of Americans take supplements, but are these pills really doing what they claim? Well on this morning's show, we're going to separate fact from fiction. Let's start with a new study on some popular arthritis and joint supplements. Christy Feig looks at the bottom line.
[Christy Feig, Cnn Correspondent:] Osteoarthritis of the knee is one of the leading causes of disability in older Americans. It's caused by the loss of joint cartilage that leaves bone rubbing on bone. Treatment can include physical therapy, pain killers, injections, and joint replacement. And many Americans try dietary supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin, but how well do these supplements work? That's just what researchers in a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health wanted to know. So they gave nearly 1,600 patients either 1,500 milligrams of glucosamine, 1,200 milligrams of Chondroitin Sulfate, a combination of the two, 200 milligrams of Celebrex, or a dummy pill every day for 24 weeks. The results are published in "The New England Journal of Medicine." The conclusion? There was no significant benefit in the entire group. But for some patients who took the supplement combination, there was good news.
[Arthur Weinstein, Dr., Washington Hospital Center:] In a subset of the patients with osteoarthritis, those who had more advanced pain or more pain and more advanced disease, it did show a benefit.
[Feig:] Glucosamine and chondroitin are both found naturally in the body for cartilage formation and repair, which is why some doctors say these supplements are still an important weapon in the fight against arthritis pain.
[John Klippel, Dr., Arthritis Foundation:] I think it needs to be recognized, these continue to be important considerations for people with this form of arthritis.
[Feig:] The Arthritis Foundation recommends talking to your doctor about whether these supplements fit into your treatment plans. I'm Christy Feig reporting from Washington.
[Gupta:] All right, Christy, lots of information there. The recommended doses of these supplements would probably cost you about $1 to $3 a day or up to a thousand dollar a year, which insurance companies aren't going to cover. So even this new study might be leaving you wondering if these pills are really worth the money. A good question. Helping us to answer that question, Dr. Mark Hyman. He's an alternative medicine specialist. He's also co-author of the best- selling book, "Ultra Prevention." And now he's hosting his first public television special called "Ultra Metabolism," which premieres this coming week. Welcome to the show.
[Dr. Mark Hyman , Alternative Medicine Specialist:] Thank you, Dr. Gupta.
[Gupta:] You're a busy guy.
[Hyman:] I am.
[Gupta:] Look, this was a this you've seen the study. It was big. It was rigorously controlled. And still, there seems to be a lot of questions as to what this really tells people regarding at least these supplements. What did you take away from the study?
[Hyman:] Well, you know, Dr. Gupta, I think no one is more confused about supplements than their physicians and patients. You know, we have a society where we're looking at how we can improve our health, and yet many of us are trying to use supplements without enough knowledge. And doctors necessarily aren't the best people, because we don't learn about nutrition.
[Gupta:] Right.
[Hyman:] And many of the studies that are done look at how supplements work as drugs, but they're really different than drugs. In fact, the Institute of Medicine reported in their report on complementary alternative medicine that supplements and natural therapies need to be studied in a different way than randomized controlled trials. And that's because they work as part of the body's normal functioning system. They work as part of the body's ability to repair and heal itself. And we want to use substances that help work with the body, rather than against the body. And that's why it's important to look at glucosamine. And this particular study, I found it interesting, because it did show a benefit of people who had moderate to severe pain. And there was 60 percent of the people who took nothing that also got a benefit. So it's a little interesting that people with a placebo also reach a benefit, but that the people who had the actual glucosamine I believe did show more benefit. And there are many, many other studies that support this. And you have to look at the one study in the context of all the other studies.
[Gupta:] OK, so I mean, the bottom line for people out there is it's a good point. Glucosamine might help your body's sort of natural healing powers if you have some arthritic type pain. But a lot of people aren't quite sure whether or not they want to shell out the cash for it yet. The data's not strong on that. And there was a lot of e-mails coming up basically about that. Let's try and get to some of those e-mail questions now. One from Beth in California, who wants to know this. "What is the difference between MSM supplements and glucosamine?" Now doctor, a specific question. Both are touted to help with joint pain, especially arthritis. What do you tell her?
[Hyman:] MSM is a sulfur compound. And sulfur is one of the key nutrients in our body that helps our body detoxify, repair, heal, deal with inflammation. So we need it. And it comes in many foods, like garlic, and onions, and broccoli and so forth. But glucosamine is an entirely different substance. It's made up of the actually the shellfish shells, which has the basic building blocks of cartilage. And in studies, they've shown that those particular building blocks, when they're tagged, for example, with radioactive labels, actually go into the joint space and actually deposit themselves there and help rebuild and replenish the cartilage. And in two studies, one in "The Lancet" and one in the "Archives of Internal Medicine," they actually found that the joint space didn't narrow in people who took glucosamine, compared to people who took a placebo or even took conventional arthritis medicines and anti- inflammatory drugs, which don't really stop the disease. They just prevent the pain.
[Gupta:] OK. So maybe there's some actual evidence there that glucosamine might be of some benefit here. Let's keep going here, because this is important. Another study that raised questions was about vitamin D and calcium. They've been touted as helping prevent osteoporosis and therefore bone fractures. But researchers studying post menopausal women found conflicting evidence. The pills did slightly help with hip and bone density, but did not decrease hip fractures. Now the one exception, we got to keep up here, because it's confusing, older women over 60 had significantly fewer hip fractures after taking the supplements, but the doses of calcium used were somewhat lower than was recommended. People are confused. You know, as we've talked about with glucosamine as well. Gale in New York asked this question. "Is it true that calcium supplements do not help slow osteoporosis?" Doctor, I mean, should people stop taking their calcium based on this study?
[Hyman:] No, they shouldn't. I think the study had a number of problems. It was a large women's health initiative, studied many women. But the study wasn't really designed, in my view, to study calcium alone. It was using it in women who took hormones. It was giving them a dose of calcium that was lower than ideal. It was given in a form that I don't think is well absorbed, calcium carbonate. The vitamin D that was given was lower than the doses that are typically recognized now as being helpful. And it was studied in women who were also often taking other calcium supplements, in addition to the ones that were in the study. So it may not have shown an effect. So I think there are a lot of problems with that study. And the bottom line is that when you take the weight of the evidence out there, calcium with vitamin D, and particularly I think higher dose of vitamin D than we typically expect, do benefit the bone density.
[Gupta:] All right. We're talking with Dr. Mark Hyman. Lots of good information. Lots more questions, coming up. Stay tuned.
[Unidentified Female:] We're getting to the facts about vitamins and supplements. Can saw palmetto help you? What about black cohosh? The facts behind the claims, coming up. First, take today's quiz. How long does it a take for vitamins and supplements to have a noticeable effect? That answer, coming up.