The Power of Multivitamins: Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease Death

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has encouraging news for those that have been taking multivitamins, and maybe some motivation for those that have been considering taking them. They recently completed a study that showed evidence that those that take multivitamins regularly for long periods of time may decrease their risk of dying from heart disease by 16 percent. In fact, daily supplements of vitamin E taken over a 10-year time frame are believed to reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 28 percent according to the study which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous Studies Rebutted

The new research is a serious rebut to the previous 2004 report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. That report showed that multivitamins, and specifically vitamin E, actually inflated the risk of “all-cause mortality.” The new report was also a blow to another more recently published research study. The study published in 2007 in the Journal of American Medical Association alleged that vitamin A, vitamin E, and beta-carotene could raise the risk of death by 16 percent.

Neither of these two past reports lined up with the new conclusions that the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reported. The new Washington study had much more favorable results for these supplements. Their research results showed the following:

• Multivitamins did not lower the risk of causes of death other than heart disease.
• Vitamin E and multivitamins were not associated to a rise in cancer deaths.
• Vitamin E and C slightly decreased the risk of overall death.

These findings were based on more than 77,000 questionnaires that were completed by residents of the state of Washington. These residents were between the ages of 50 and 76. The researchers then correlated the results with 10 year use of multivitamins and vitamins C and E, and with mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Who Takes Vitamins?

A large sector of the general population visits their local health and nutrition stores regularly. Apparently, these people already knew that there were health benefits to nutritional supplements of some kind. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was recently conducted. It revealed that approximately 35 percent of adults in the United States take multivitamins on a regular basis. Now these nutrition shop regulars have some hard facts to substantiate their faith in these supplements.

That multivitamin-taking adult population will be encouraged by the new research findings. While they did not find any reduction in the mortality from anything other than heart disease, heart disease is a big concern for many Americans. This also means that 65 percent of the American adult population should take heed of these findings. Is this information enough motivation to drive the rest of the Americans to begin taking multivitamins? It is hard to say.