Rosehips are pricey, but not better
By Ed Blonz, Ph.D.
DEAR DR. BLONZ: I have heard that the ascorbic acid used in many vitamin C 
supplements is not the best form of vitamin C for the body. I read that rosehips 
should be used for vitamin C. Is this correct? I have tried without much luck to 
find a chewable vitamin C with rosehips as the C source. Does it really matter? 
-- V.I.
DEAR V.I.: Rosehips are one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C. 
However, because they are relatively costly, it is doubtful that you will find a 
vitamin C supplement that relies exclusively on rosehips. If you read the label 
carefully, you will find that most supplements which claim to be "rosehips 
vitamin C" are really vitamin C with a little bit of rosehips tossed in for good 
measure (and label appeal). The same goes for acerola cherries, another rich 
natural source of vitamin C. Whether it comes from rosehips, acerola cherries, 
an orange or (gasp!) a laboratory, vitamin C is vitamin C -- and it's all 
ascorbic acid. The real benefit of having a measure of natural ingredients in 
your vitamin C supplement is not for the vitamin, but for the non-vitamin 
nutrients and phytochemicals that tend to be present alongside naturally-
occurring vitamin C.
DEAR DR. BLONZ: I saw an article in a recent magazine that talked about a study 
linking chromium picolinate to making cells more susceptible to cancer. Any 
thoughts on this? -- P.F.
DEAR P.F.: A preliminary study presented at the annual meeting of the American 
Chemical Society questioned the safety of chromium picolinate, raising the 
specter that it might cause DNA breakage. An ability to damage DNA would 
certainly represent a cancer risk and the report garnered a good bit of media 
attention, perhaps because chromium supplements have grown enormously in 
popularity.
Because the methods used involved treating isolated DNA in a test-tube 
situation, the ability to make conclusions was speculative at best. It might 
serve as fodder for future studies, but it provides little grist for making 
definitive statements about what chromium might or might not cause in our 
bodies. Our ability to make conclusions is only as good as the science that is 
available, and I look forward to more research on any potential negative 
effects. At the present time, however, I am relying on the fact that chromium 
picolinate has a relatively good safety record in the animal studies done to 
date.
DEAR DR. BLONZ: When recently purchasing my vitamin and mineral supplements, I 
noticed that my mineral supplement contains calcium amino acid chelate and my 
vitamin supplement contains d- calcium pantothenate. What is d-calcium 
pantothenate, and why would it be in my vitamin supplement? Isn't calcium a 
mineral? Because I've heard that too much calcium can be toxic, I wanted to make 
sure I'm not taking too much if both of my products provide that one similar 
ingredient. -- K.B.
DEAR K.B.: In the same way that vitamin C is also referred to by its chemical 
name, ascorbic acid, the compound known as vitamin B-5 can go by its chemical 
name, "pantothenic acid." Calcium is indeed a mineral, but d-calcium 
pantothenate is nothing more than a "salt" of pantothenic acid -- two molecules 
of pantothenic acid held together with a molecule of calcium. When the compound 
dissolves, the calcium and the pantothenic acid go their separate ways.
The amount of calcium present in this form is negligible. For example, if you 
had the daily value for pantothenic acid (10 milligrams) as d-calcium 
pantothenate, you would be adding less than one milligram of calcium to your 
daily total. That is one tenth of one percent of the amount most individuals 
need every day.
Calcium is relatively nontoxic, so your concerns about toxicity may be 
misplaced. Granted, anything can become toxic if taken to excess, but adverse 
effects from calcium are not usually seen until the intake is in the 
neighborhood of 2,500 milligrams a day.

Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Newspaper Enterprise 
Association, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. For e-mail, address inquiries 
to: ed@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be 
provided.
Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and the author of "Power Nutrition" 
(Signet, 1998) and the "Your Personal Nutritionist" book series (Signet, 1996).
Copyright1999 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.