I was watching public TV a couple of years ago when a researcher was being interviewed
about the
Beta Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), in which 18,314 smokers took either
beta carotene and Vitamin A or a placebo. He embarrassedly stated that the beta carotene
(found in carrots and orange vegetables) and Vitamin, even though they are 'anti-oxidant'
and theoretically should prevent heart disease and cancer, actually increased it in their trial.
In fact people on supplements equal to four carrots a day had 17% more
heart disease and were 17% more likely to die than people on a placebo.
I found that pretty surprising, especially since you hear those natural health guru
types yapping on the radio all the time about the benefits of anti-oxidant vitamins.
I later visited my sister-in-law Rossana (pronounced ROE - SSSS - ana, as my kids always point out)
in the US Virgin Islands. Rumaging in her refrigerator while she was at work (hey I didn't have anything
else to do) I found several large bottles of vitamins and supplements. I looked
at the ingredients and found that she was taking Vitamin A at several times the recommended daily
levels. When she got home from work I confronted her about it.
Doug: "Rossana, why are you taking so many vitamins and supplements?"
Rossana: "I don't have time to cook meals and eat enough vegetables, so this gives me what I need."
Doug: "But did you realize that the amount of Vitamin A you are taking may cause osteoporosis?"
I don't want to be dodgy and name the company that made the vitamins and supplements
she was taking, but I looked them up on the internet, and if you followed their recommendations,
you would be spending $7,128 dollars per year on their products!
Even though in the laboratory there has been shown some connection between
oxidative stress and heart disease, and in spite of the known role of vitamins C and E as anti-oxidants,
you can't get around the fact that there is now a large body of research including studies with tens of thousands
of patients that have shown that vitamins do not prevent heart disease or lengthen your life.
In fact, they may actually have the opposite effect.
One study of Vitamin E combined with Vitamin C showed that vitamins actually
accelerated the progression of thickening of the coronary arteries, and doubled
the risk of dying of heart disease. Another study of a combination of
anti-oxidants, including Vitamins E, C, beta carotene, and selenium, showed that vitamins actually
blocked the effects of anti-cholesterol treatment (simvastatin plus niacin) on reducing
atherosclerosis and preventing heart attacks and strokes. The vitamins in this study
interfered with the ability of the other medications to raise HDL (good) cholesterol.
Looking at
all studies combined in which Vitamin E was given with beta carotene, there was
a 10% overall increase in mortality.
I think the vitamins may be giving a boost to little tumors that wouldn't have been a problem otherwise.
Based on these studies, I believe there is no role for vitamins in the treatment or prevention of heart disease.
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