Women: Will Vitamins help your heart?
Published in the August 13, 2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers shared the latest investigation into benefits of antioxidant supplements on women considered at high risk for heart disease. Among the over 8,000 women involved in the study, only a combination of vitamins C and E showed a slightly lower risk of stroke when compared the placebo group.
The timing of reading this study was interesting to me because I just finished listening to an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, the director of antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. Dr. Blumberg has published over 180 scientific articles on antioxidant nutrients, and, in a nutshell, he said the same thing.
This does not mean that there is no benefit from taking antioxidant supplements, though! In fact, most do no harm at all, and could help ‘supplement’ a healthy diet. Of course, anyone taking supplements should understand what the benefits and harm is of taking those supplements. But it is important to also note that studies also do show that there is a modest benefit to taking supplements over a long period of time. Some studies have lasted 10 years and show subtle benefits.
The big issue that many researchers continue to come back to is that we still have not identified all the nutrients that lie hidden in foods that are known to be high in antioxidants and provide other benefits to health.
So what is the message to take away from this? OK, here I go again: Eat your fruits and veggies! Are you eating at least three servings per day? If so, great! Now increase to five per day! Are you up to five per day? Ok, it’s time to kick that up to seven! And if you want to take supplements, that’s fine, too. Just really understand what you’re taking, why you’re taking it and how best to take it. Don’t just buy some pills, think that because they are ‘natural’ they are all safe, and that if you pop them all in your mouth at the same time that they’re all effective.
I have a final comment that comes up often about the fears of weight gain with eating more fruits and veggies. Trust me; you’re not going to gain weight on fruits and veggies! Now, if you add toppings (cream, sugar, etc), yes, you could gain weight. But I suggest eating your produce ‘naked’. Ok, that may stir up fears or laughs; naked fruit and veggies, not YOU eating it naked.
However, if that helps, go for it!
To read the abstract, click here:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/167/15/1610
The timing of reading this study was interesting to me because I just finished listening to an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, the director of antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. Dr. Blumberg has published over 180 scientific articles on antioxidant nutrients, and, in a nutshell, he said the same thing.
This does not mean that there is no benefit from taking antioxidant supplements, though! In fact, most do no harm at all, and could help ‘supplement’ a healthy diet. Of course, anyone taking supplements should understand what the benefits and harm is of taking those supplements. But it is important to also note that studies also do show that there is a modest benefit to taking supplements over a long period of time. Some studies have lasted 10 years and show subtle benefits.
The big issue that many researchers continue to come back to is that we still have not identified all the nutrients that lie hidden in foods that are known to be high in antioxidants and provide other benefits to health.
So what is the message to take away from this? OK, here I go again: Eat your fruits and veggies! Are you eating at least three servings per day? If so, great! Now increase to five per day! Are you up to five per day? Ok, it’s time to kick that up to seven! And if you want to take supplements, that’s fine, too. Just really understand what you’re taking, why you’re taking it and how best to take it. Don’t just buy some pills, think that because they are ‘natural’ they are all safe, and that if you pop them all in your mouth at the same time that they’re all effective.
I have a final comment that comes up often about the fears of weight gain with eating more fruits and veggies. Trust me; you’re not going to gain weight on fruits and veggies! Now, if you add toppings (cream, sugar, etc), yes, you could gain weight. But I suggest eating your produce ‘naked’. Ok, that may stir up fears or laughs; naked fruit and veggies, not YOU eating it naked.
However, if that helps, go for it!
To read the abstract, click here:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/167/15/1610
posted by Margie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT at
6:44 AM
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