Contrary to popular belief, taking antioxidant vitamins may do
little to protect your heart. A study released today in the
Archives of Internal Medicine is the latest to put a dent in the
theory that vitamins such as C, E and antioxidants such as beta
carotene can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke or other
cardiovascular events. Alhough previous research has come to
similar conclusions, the study at hand is perhaps one of the
largest to debunk the idea that these vitamins can lead to a
healthier heart. The research involved 8,000 women at high risk
for heart disease who were assigned to take either vitamins
alone or in combination or a placebo over nine years. Study
author Nancy R. Cook, a researcher at Brigham and Women's
Hospital and Harvard Medical School, notes that these results
"add to the body of evidence that antioxidants do not add to the
prevention of heart disease." She adds that when the study first
began in 1996, "we were expecting to find that these substances
had a beneficial effect." Coo