Antioxidants flunk heart test. (Quick Studies).A daily mixture of antioxidant vitamins failed to reduce the risk of heart disease in a study of more than 20,000 people aged 40 to 80. The participants had a high risk of heart disease because of problems like diabetes or a previous stroke, but they didn't necessarily have high cholesterol Cholesterol, High Definition Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in animal tissue and is an important component to the human body. It is manufactured in the liver and carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. levels. Those who took vitamin E vitamin E or tocopherol Fat-soluble organic compound found principally in certain plant oils and leaves of green vegetables. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant in body tissues and may prolong life by slowing oxidative destruction of membranes. (600 IU), vitamin C (250 mg), and beta-carotene (20 mg, or 33,300 IU) had no lower risk than those who took a placebo. In contrast, taking 40 mg a day of Zocor (simvastatin simvastatin /sim·va·stat·in/ (sim´vah-stat?in) an antihyperlipidemic agent that acts by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis, used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other forms of dyslipidemia and to lower the risks associated ) lowered the risk of heart disease and strokes by a third. (This was the first study to show that statin drugs work in women of all ages and men over 70.) What to do: Don't rely on vitamins to protect your heart, especially if you're at high risk (see Oct. 2001, cover story). The evidence for vitamin C and betacarotene has never been strong, and this study is the second major trial to find no benefit from vitamin E. British Medical Journal The British Medical Journal, or BMJ, is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world.[2] It is published by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (owned by the British Medical Association), whose other 323: 1145, 2001. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion