In an effort to guard against heart disease, you may consider adding a multivitamin supplement to your menu of fatty fish, nuts and oat bran.
According to new a study published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Earlier studies that investigated the link between multivitamin use and heart risk have turned up conflicting results.
The continuing Nurses’ Health Study reported that regular multivitamin use was linked with a 24 per cent lower risk of heart disease. In a study of more than one million healthy U.S. adults, multivitamins were associated with a 25 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease.
Yet randomized controlled trials – the gold standard of scientific evidence – have offered little evidence that these supplements influence the risk of heart disease.
The current study included 33,933 Swedish women aged 49 to 83 years, the vast majority (93 per cent) having no history of heart disease. After 10 years of follow up, 1201 women had suffered a heart attack.
Among women who were free of heart disease upon enrolling in the study, taking a daily multivitamin reduced the risk of heart attack by 27 per cent. The protective effect was stronger among women who used multivitamins for at least five years. Compared with women who didn’t take supplements, those who took multivitamins for five years or longer were 40 per cent less likely to have a heart attack.
When the researchers accounted for body weight, physical activity, smoking status and other heart risk factors, the results remained unchanged.
Multivitamin use did not alter the risk of heart attack among women with a history of heart disease.
The fact that the latest study findings contradict reports from randomized controlled trials may be that the ingredients and dose of multivitamins vary widely in studies. In the current study, multivitamins contained essential vitamins and minerals at doses that closely matched recommended daily intakes.
Another reason is that many randomized controlled trials were performed among people with existing heart disease. Most of the studies that determined multivitamins beneficial were conducted in healthy people. While multivitamins may help keep blood vessels healthy, they may not prevent a heart attack once heart disease has developed.
There are a number of ways in which a multivitamin may defend against heart disease. Multivitamins contain antioxidant nutrients – vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, selenium – that could lessen artery damage caused by free radicals.
Free radicals are produced naturally when we breathe, but ultraviolet light, cigarette smoking, and the consumption of alcohol are other sources.In high amounts, free radicals contribute to the formation of fatty plaques in the arteries that, if ruptured, can cause a heart attack.
Multivitamins also contain the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12, which have been shown to lower blood homocysteine, an amino acid made by the body during normal metabolism. High homocysteine is thought to damage artery walls and increase the risk of heart disease.
Magnesium – a mineral that most Canadians don’t get enough of – can help prevent diabetes (a major risk factor for heart disease), reduce inflammation and promote normal blood pressure.
While a multivitamin may offer some protection, it’s well established that healthy eating guards against heart disease.
The following strategies can help you lower your risk of developing heart disease.
Take a multivitamin
Look for vitamins A, C, D, E, B1, B2, niacin, B6, folic acid and B12. Choose a formula that provides 100 per cent the recommended daily intake for B6 (1.3 to 1.7 mg), B12 (2.4 mcg) and folic acid (400 mcg). Look for the minerals chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc.
