Do Multivitamins Prevent Heart Attacks?

Right from the day that vitamins (vital amines) were found to be very important ingredients for keeping the physiological functions of the body in balance, debate has been going on about their efficacy and usage as supplements. Linus Pauling often referred to as Father of Vitamin C, a two-time winner of the Nobel Prize, could be considered to be one of the pioneers to promote the modern concept of living healthier and longer. He lived to a ripe age of 93 years, even though he was diagnosed with serious kidney impairment during his middle years. Many famous names in this field of research could be quoted, but right at this point, Dr. Frederick Klenner should be mentioned for his famous recommendation: "Vitamin C should be given to the patient while the doctors ponder the diagnosis."

It would be proper at this point to give vitamins a proper mention. Coined from two words, vital and amines, these substances are extremely essential substances for the keeping the body in a state of homeostasis or balance. There are 2 types of vitamins; they are fat-soluble and water-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble, and bind to the fat molecules. Hence, they stay for longer periods in the body. Water-soluble vitamins are C and the big cluster of B vitamins. Water soluble vitamins get washed away faster; therefore, these Vitamins are required to be replenished on a regular basis. Concerning vitamins, there is no contradiction in the understanding and approval of researchers and the many authors on medical sciences, the world over.

Should we take vitamins?

Vitamin studies

A team of Swedish Medical researchers have done vitamin studies with a group of 1300 people, men and women, with a previous history of heart-attack and compared them with a control group of 1685 people. After making adjustments for major cardiovascular risk factors among these two groups, the researchers have established that low-dose multivitamin supplements, particularly containing anti-oxidants such as Vitamins E and C, have actually helped in reduction of risk of heart attack. The risk was drastically lower among the women who took vitamins.The research also ruled out effectiveness of natural ingredients theory, which speaks of consuming fruits and vegetables to be better than supplements. Although fruits and vegetables do contain vitamins, they don't contain the same amount that vitamin supplements do. However, one should certainly continue to include plenty of fruits and vegetables in his/her diet.

Further vitamin studies conducted at many institutions also suggest a similar trend. US researchers have established that a daily dose of multivitamins would drastically reduce the chances of getting ill, thereby reducing the chances of other health complications. On the other hand, Oxford studies conducted vitamin studies during the year 2002, considered that taking vitamins was a waste of time and money. An article written by Michael Downey has this to say about the studies on vitamins.

Mortality tables from the United States and other countries show an alarming proportion of cancer and heart attack as major contributors to the death rate. It is for this reason that many authors strongly recommend a regular supplement dosage of multivitamins to reduce the risk of heart-attack, and increase the resistance and general health of the person, though critics mention about the necessity of conducting world-wide clinical trials on a larger scale to establish the efficacy. However, as there appears to be no harm in consuming low-doses of multivitamins, and certainly no side-effects with the water-soluble vitamins, B and C, and based on the different research statistics that show a remarkable reduction in the rates of heart-attack, most medical doctors advise to take these supplements for a healthy heart.

Sources:

Linus Pauling

Nutra Ingredients