Synergy of Nutrients

Synergy of Nutrients

The synergy of nutrients has been suggested to be of major significance for decades, however, relatively few studies have focused on the critical nature of synergy. 

An example of the importance of the synergy of nutrients in vivo is given by nutritional scientist Dr. Michael Colgan, PhD, CCN, in his book The New Nutrition - Medicine for the Millennium:

“As with all other nutrients, antioxidants work properly only in synergy with each other. It is their multiple interactions that creates optimal protection for your body.  

Let’s look at an example to drive synergy home. Oral cancer is a good one. Chewing toxins such as tobacco, quickly causes oral leukoplakia, that is, pre-malignant lesions in the mouth and throat. Within a decade these lesions usually progress to cancer if left untreated, whether or not you give up the chew.  

Vitamin E supplements can reverse leukoplakia in about 50% of cases. But vitamin E and beta-carotene combined can reverse leukoplakia in 65-75% of cases.^58,59

Even the two antioxidants together do not provide optimal protection. Further studies deliberately induced oral cancer in animals, then tested vitamin E, beta-carotene, glutathione and vitamin C. 

Used singly, the antioxidants each provided some degree of cancer inhibition, glutathione and beta-carotene being the best. But, the combination of all four significantly reversed tumor growth.”^60,61  

Back to Contents on this Page

Nutritional Synergy and Asthma

In addition to the previously mentioned studies, the following studies suggest similar synergistic benefits for asthmatics may be found in a multi-nutritional supplement approach.

Jeng, et al. have reported that interlukin-1 (IL-1) beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in a group supplemented with vitamins C and E was significantly higher than that of the groups given vitamin E or vitamin C alone. 

The enhancing effect of supplementation with a combination of vitamins E and C coincided with peak plasma alpha-tocopherol and ascorbate concentrations on day 14. 

In addition, an in vitro experiment showed that vitamins E and C reduced PGE2 production and enhanced TNF-alpha production. The researchers concluded that these results indicate that combined supplementation with vitamins C and E is more immunopotentiating than supplementation with either vitamin alone in adults.¹⁵³

In 1997, C Trenga reported a study of 17 adult asthmatics found that when their diets were supplemented with daily dosages of 400 IU of vitamin E and 500 milligrams of vitamin C there was an 18 percent increase in the peak flow capacity over those on regular diets.⁶²

In 1999, Trenga and colleagues reported that plasma ascorbate and plasma beta-carotene concentrations were inversely associated with peak expiratory flow (PEF) values and ascorbate concentrations were positively associated with FEV1 and FEV1/FVC.⁶³

Back to Contents on this Page