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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 levels.

Those who took vitamin E (600 IU IU - Idiot User
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), vitamin C (250 mg), and beta-carotene beta-carotene
beta carotene  the ß- isomer of carotene; a preparation is used to prevent vitamin A deficiency and to reduce the severity of photosensitivity in patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria.


car·o·tene (kr
:
 see carotene; antioxidant; Vitamin A under vitamin.
 (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 Zo·cor (zkôr)
A trademark for the drug simvastatin.
 (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 with atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.) 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 betacarotene /be·ta·car·o·tene/ (ba?tah-kar´o-ten) see under carotene. has never been strong, and this study is the second major trial to find no benefit from vitamin E.

British Medical Journal 323: 1145, 2001.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Center for Science in the Public Interest
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:study shows antioxidants do not prevent heart disease
Publication:Nutrition Action Healthletter
Article Type:Brief Article
Geographic Code:4EUUK
Date:Jan 1, 2002
Words:177
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