Supplements Boost Cardiovascular Health

The answers to some of America's biggest health problems have been hiding in plain sight.

A new study finds that some common antioxidants could help lower your blood pressure, raise good cholesterol levels, improve sugar and fat metabolism and boost artery health.

That's a mouthful… and by the time you read the details, you'll want a mouthful, too–of vitamins C and E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium.

Researchers recruited 70 people with an average age of 62 and a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and low HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. Some of them were even smokers.

Some of the subjects were given a placebo, while the rest got a modest antioxidant boost that you could easily get for yourself: vitamin C (1,000 mg per day), vitamin E (400 IU per day), coenzyme Q10 (120 mg per day) and selenium (200 micrograms per day).

Six months later, the patients taking the supplements were leaps and bounds ahead of those on the placebos, according to the study in Nutrition & Metabolism.

In fact, they had lowered their systolic blood pressure by an average of 9.1 points, from 145.2 to 136.1. And they saw a 3.4-point drop in their diastolic–from 78.4 to 75.

Those who took the supplements had major improvements in the flexibility of their arteries–a basic indication of good cardiovascular health. They also had better sugar and fat metabolism, a significant increase in their HDL cholesterol levels, and a modest drop in their triglycerides.

Those who took the placebos, on the other hand, saw no improvements at all. And that means they were probably in line for meds during their next visit to the doctor's office.

Let's hope they found out about the results in the supplement group before they filled those new prescriptions.

Source: House Calls