To lower your risk of heart disease, you need to take much more vitamin E and vitamin C than you can get from food. You may notice nausea, bloating, an upset stomach or loose stools at first. If your doctor is going to have you tested for blood in your stool, you shouldn't take vitamin C for three days before you have the test. Vitamin E acts like a blood thinner if you take 800 IU per day or more. Check with your doctor.
Phytochemicals are only in foods that come from plants.
You can improve your overall health by eating lots of foods that contain antioxidants and phytochemicals. Multivitamins contain a good balance of vitamins, but they hardly ever have the amount of vitamin E and vitamin C that you may need for a healthy heart. You could take a daily multivitamin along with extra vitamin C and vitamin E. Be sure to ask your doctor about this before you take any multivitamin. If you already have enough iron in your body, extra iron can make oxidation happen. Your doctor can tell you what kind of multivitamin is best for you.