Are multivitamins good for the heart?

Advertising is tempting: in a capsule, the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to perform many of its essential functions. They are available in pharmacies and supermarkets, and are consumed by a wide audience, including people in good health. Now, a new study adds to the scientific debate that has been open for years on the effectiveness of these products.

The article published in the Circulation Magazine of the American Heart Association (AHA, for its acronym in English), concluded that the intake of multivitamins and mineral supplements is not not useful for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

"We find no clinical benefit from the use of multivitamins and minerals to prevent heart attacks, strokes, or cardiovascular death." report, Joonseok Kim, professor at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (USA).

He and his team conducted a thorough evaluation of 18 previous studies – including randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort badyzes – that added more than 2 million total participants, with an average of 12 years of followed.

In Review I Can not Find There was no badociation between taking multivitamin and mineral supplements and decreasing the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

"It has been exceptionally difficult to convince people, including nutrition researchers, to recognize that multivitamin and mineral supplements" The researcher hopes these results "will help reduce the hype" around these supplements and that they encourage people to use proven methods to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as eating more fruits and vegetables, exercise and avoiding tobacco.

Controversy over effectiveness of this type of products to prevent cardiovascular disease takes years of scientific debate and many studies suggest that they do not help.

minerals taken in moderation rarely cause direct damage, we urge people to protect their heart health by understanding their individual risk of heart disease and stroke, "wrote the authors.

P Armi their recommendations, they said that it is important to include a healthy diet for the heart. , stop smoking, control blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol, and if necessary, medical treatment.

The AHA press release on the new study argues that another recent survey found that the multivitamins also have no influence on the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease or total mortality in postmenopausal women. "To have a healthy heart and a long life, you have to follow a healthy diet," advises Eduardo Sánchez, medical director of the AHA. prevention and head of the metrology and health badessment centers of the badociation, who have not participated in the study io "There is no substitute for a balanced and nutritious diet with more fruits and vegetables that limits excess calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, sugar and cholesterol. "

According to Parag Joshi, a preventive cardiologist at UT Southwestern Dallas Medical Center (USA), one of the strengths of the study is that it includes clinical trials. The doctor – who did not work in the research either – considered the results to confirm the "best scientific evidence" that suggests that multivitamins with minerals do not prevent heart disease and stroke.

replace a healthy diet. "People who have vitamin deficiencies, such as a lack of vitamin D, which helps regulate blood pressure, should find out what is causing the problem and not rush to taking supplements to fill a nutritional gap, he said.

And, although he does not advise his patients to stop taking multivitamins, he discourages the belief that these products help them to live longer or better.

Kimm, for one, expects other specialists to do the same, because he believes that many patients still receive confusing messages. on the benefits of multivitamins.And because dietary supplements are not regulated in the same way as drugs, there is no need to prove that they are safe or effective before being marketed