Antioxidants are put to the test for heart health…and come away champions!
Many conventional doctors will tell you antioxidant supplement benefits are unproven — just a bunch of pseudoscience.
In that case, you can hand over a copy of this article and tell him it’s time to wake up and smell the science.
No “pseudo” added.
Researchers at a medical center in Israel recruited 70 subjects with an average age of 62.
Subjects were divided into two groups. One group received placebos and the other received a four-part antioxidant intervention:
- Vitamin C — 1,000 mg daily
- Vitamin E — 400 IU daily
- Selenium — 200 mcg daily
- CoQ10 — 120 mg daily
Each patient was screened with a general physical exam, blood test, a urinalysis, and an electrocardiogram at baseline, again at three months and finally at six months when the study concluded.
Results were just about everything you could hope for in a study like this.
Overall, in the antioxidant group, blood pressure was reduced, large and small artery elasticity increased significantly. HDL cholesterol increased significantly. HbA1C (a measure of high blood sugar) declined significantly. And triglycerides declined…a little.
But I saved the best for last: At the outset of the study, each of the 70 subjects had at least TWO of these cardiovascular risk factors: cigarette smoking, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, or high triglycerides.
THAT’S putting antioxidants to the test! And THAT’S antioxidants kicking risk factors and taking names!
Be sure to tell your doctor all about it.
Source:
“Effect of long-term treatment with antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium) on arterial compliance, humoral factors and inflammatory markers in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors” Nutrition & Metabolism, 7/6/10, nutritionandmetabolism.com
