CRN Publishes Risk Assessments; Commissions Nutrition Poll
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., recently au­thored risk assessments for coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), carotenoids lutein and lycopene, and creatine monohydrate. The risk assessments, published by the peer-reviewed journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, were co-authored by CRN scientists John Hathcock, PhD, and Andrew Shao, PhD, to ensure regulators worldwide have a science-based guideline available to determine safe upper levels for these popular non-essential nutrients in dietary supplements. Upper levels supplements (ULS) identify a level at which there is no known toxicity for these nutrients. For each nutrient, Drs. Hathcock and Shao reviewed only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted in humans, using uncontrolled trials and animal data as supportive information only. For CoQ10 the authors arrived at a ULS of ,200 mg per day. For lutein, a ULS of 20 mg per day was proposed. Lycopene received a ULS of 75 mg per day. Creatine was assigned a ULS of 5 grams per day.
In other news, CRN recently commissioned a new survey that found nearly six Americans in 10 (58%) acknowledge that they do not eat a balanced diet on a regular basis. Although 81% of those asked said that eating a balanced diet was important, only 20% say they eat a balanced diet every day. The survey results also showed that nearly half of U.S. adults (46%) take a multivitamin regularly, and 41% take a multivitamin every day. More than 90% of multivitamin users agree that multivitamins ensure they are “able to get the nutrients they need for a well-balanced diet and overall healthy lifestyle.”