Letter to the Editor, Washington Post, Monday, May 5, 2008; Page A16 Sally Squires's April 29 article "Vitamins Fare Poorly in Analysis" reported that a new analysis found that taking some antioxidant supplements "may increase mortality." But analyses such as the Cochrane Collaboration's are prone to bias in terms of which studies they include. Such analyses are inappropriate tools for investigating the role of short-term antioxidant supplements and overall mortality.

Michael, age 45, came into my office seeking help to reduce his blood cholesterol. He had just been diagnosed and was seeking an alternative treatment to avoid taking lipid lowering medications.

He told me he had started taking flax oil and hemp hearts which are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids when he read they were important for a healthy cardiovascular system.

I reminded Michael that 50 percent of people have normal cholesterol at the time of their heart attack and heart health isn’t just about cholesterol and saturated fats in the diet.

Today on cnn.com is this interesting article on the basics of antioxidants and how eating a healthy, varied diet is probably better than just popping vitamins. By Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D. for Cooking Light Hardly a week goes by without news of antioxidants' health-promoting benefits. Experts believe these nutritional substances may help prevent heart disease, fight certain cancers, ward off dementia, and even slow certain aging processes. There are thousands of antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, meats, poultry, and fish.

Gluten-sensitive enteropathy or, as it is more commonly called, celiac disease, is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the small intestine that is precipitated by the ingestion of gluten, a component of wheat protein, in genetically susceptible persons.