Vitamins May Be No Match For Mother Nature

Study Found Heart Disease Is Reduced By Eating Fruits And Vegetables, Not Taking Pills

(CBS)  New research suggests that people who try to prevent heart disease by taking antioxidants in pill form may be throwing their money away.

A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that supplements containing Vitamins C and E, and beta carotene, offer no heart benefit to women at risk of cardiovascular disease. Foods containing those antioxidants, on the other hand, have been found to reduce heart risk.

Antioxidants, explained The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay, are substances found in foods that possess properties that are believed to help our bodies ward off long-term deterioration and disease. They prevent a process called oxidation where compounds within the body are altered at the molecular level, and become free radicals, which place stress on previously healthy cells.

"It's believed that free radicals contribute to conditions as diverse as heart disease, cognitive impairment including Alzheimer's and cancer," she said.

Many antioxidants exist in nature like Vitamins C and E, and beta carotene — a compound that converts inside the body into Vitamin A. Dr. Senay said Archives of Internal Medicine's study was designed to see whether taking those vitamins in pill form helped certain women reduce their heart disease risk.

The study examined more than 8,000 women age 40 and older who were at high risk of hear disease. They were divided into groups. Some received Vitamins C and E and beta carotene in regular ongoing doses. Others took placebo substitutes for at least one of those supplements. Only researchers knew which group was which. The women were then followed for about nine years.

"Statistically the heart results for all groups were the same," Dr. Senay said. "It didn't matter who took which vitamin supplements, in which combinations. The data suggest these antioxidants had no effect on heart disease in these women."

Therefore, many doctors are now questioning the value of taking vitamins in pill form. Meanwhile, less than a year ago, the Journal of Nutrition found that people who ate fruits and vegetables containing the same antioxidants risk of heart disease dropped by about 4 percent. This year, a study associated reduced blood pressure with fruit and vegetable consumption, Dr. Senay said. But so far, researchers have found that taking vitamins do not cause any harm.

"It leads the authors of this latest study to wonder if complex antioxidants in actual food are somehow able to fight heart disease more effectively than the antioxidants found in vitamin supplements," she said. "Pill-makers just may not be able to match mother nature."