High dose vitamin C linked to lower heart attack risk
People who supplement with high doses of vitamin C could be reducing
their risk of major heart disease events like heart attack, suggests
a new analysis of prospective studies.
Epidemiologic research has suggested that higher intakes of fruit,
vegetables, and wholegrains can lower risk of coronary heart disease.
However it is not yet clear whether the antioxidant vitamins in
these foods are responsible for this protection or if other factors
are playing a role too, said the researchers.
The international team pooled data from nine prospective studies
that included information on intakes of vitamin E, carotenoids,
and vitamin C, with a 10-year follow-up to check for major incident
coronary heart disease events in people who without the disease
when the study began.
Dietary intake of antioxidant vitamins was only weakly related
to a reduced coronary heart disease risk, they write in the December
issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
However subjects who took more than 700 mg of vitamin C daily in
supplement form appeared to reduce their risk of heart disease events
by 25 per cent compared to those who took no supplements.
Earlier this year, researchers at the University of California
produced results showing that vitamin C appears to reduce levels
of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation and possibly a better
predictor of heart disease than cholesterol levels.
Supplemental vitamin E intake was not significantly related to
reduced coronary heart disease risk, according to the authors.
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Reference
Knekt P, Ritz J, Pereira MA, O'Reilly EJ, Augustsson K, Fraser GE,
Goldbourt U, Heitmann BL, Hallmans G, Liu S, Pietinen P, Spiegelman
D, Stevens J, Virtamo J, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Ascherio A. Antioxidant
vitamins and coronary heart disease risk: a pooled analysis of 9
cohorts.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1508-20
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