Antioxidants in foods and supplements are being widely promoted for their health benefits. Protection from heart disease is one claim that seems compelling in light of scientific evidence and large-scale observational studies. To examine this question, Dr Tran reviews numerous clinical studies and evaluates the discrepancies between observational and clinical results. A recent Internet search yielded more than 50,000 sites mentioning this subject, most of which offered antioxidant products such as vitamins, herbs, minerals, and food extracts. This article presents a review of the scientific evidence on antioxidants for prevention of heart disease, with an emphasis on clinical studies involving human subjects in real-life situations.
Most heart disease arises from atherosclerosis.
The application of such findings to humans requires further examination. However, these types of studies can show only an associative, not a causative, relationship between antioxidant consumption and reduced rates of heart disease. Benefit was found in smokers only. Overall, there is little dispute that the more dietary antioxidants people within a population consume, the lower the rate of heart disease and death. Outcomes of prospective cohort studies have been inconsistent.