Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,695,398 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

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.
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.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
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
Previous Article:For eyes. (Quick Studies).(dietary supplements to treat macular degeneration)(Brief Article)
Next Article:B-vitamins keep arteries open. (Quick Studies).(after angioplasty)(Brief Article)
Topics:



Related Articles
New support for tea's heart-y benefits. (polyphenols in tea inhibit LDL oxidation, lowering heart disease risk)(Biomedicine)(Brief Article)
Beta-carotene: no magic bullet. (research results do not support use of antioxidant to prevent cancer)
Antioxidants: confirming a heart-y role.(Brief Article)
Antioxidants & arteries. (how heart disease may be reduced by vitamins)(Brief Article)
The color of honey: a sweetener that bee-devils food spoilage.(Cover Story)
Chocolate Hearts.(research indicates chocolate contains antioxidants called flavonoids that reduce risk of cardiovascular disease)
Antioxidants + heart drugs = bad medicine?(Brief Article)
Antioxidants: no magic bullet.(Cover Story)
Organic produce found to be higher in health-promoting compounds. (Environmental Intelligence).(higher concentrations of antioxidants than in crops...
Antioxidants: still hazy after all these years.(HEALTH LETTER)(Cover Story)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles