As a food writer, I'm very aware of the confusion and mixed messages surrounding "popular" nutrition information. Fads and misconceptions come and go at an alarming rate. People seeking to learn about the relationship between nutrition and health are often confronted with an overwhelming array of fashionable "wisdom," often combined with just enough solid information to make one's head swim. It's very hard to know what to believe!

Recently I had the great honor of being invited by Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition, to join the newly formed Nutrition Roundtable. This is a group of people who meet several times to learn directly from the nutrition department about their findings, hopefully to help bring the public up-to-date on this authoritative research. I am very happy to offer this first in what will be a series of reports from Dr. Willett's department, providing you with a realiable source of information. Everything in each Chair's letter is the result of careful research that has produced clear and definitive results. It's my deep hope that this information will eventually influence mainstream policies on nutrition and health, as well.

I will be posting new and current reports from the Nutrition Roundtable here on molliekatzen.com after each Roundtable meeting. I'll also soon be archiving past reports (the Roundtable has been meeting since the spring of 1998), so you can read "back issues."

The following report summarizes research results on the importance of folic acid in relation to birth defects, colon cancer, and possibly heart disease. It also talks about Vitamin E and its relationship to coronary heart disease, and lycopene's effect on prostrate cancer risk. Vitamins C and E, lycopene, and literally hundreds of other substances in our food are known as "antioxidants," which support our bodies' health-promoting, protective functions in a variety of ways. We will be no doubt hearing a lot more about the importance of antioxidants in the future. Stay tuned!

ABOUT THE HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION DEPARTMENT:

• A part of Harvard University, the Harvard School of Public Health is one of the leading institutions for public health research, education, and training in the world.
• The Chair's Letter is produced by the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Established in 1941, this was the first academic department established in the United States to focus exclusively on the study of nutrition. It is chaired by Walter Willett, M.D., M.P.H., Dr. Ph., Fredrick Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition.
• The Nutrition Roundtable is an advisory body made up of individuals with personal or professional interests in the study of nutrition. The Roundtable meets three times a year to learn about and discuss the latest research findings from members of the Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition.

Section 1: Vitamin Supplements: Beyond Deficiency