Supplements Do Not Lower Risk Of Cancer or Heart Disease, Study Finds

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If anyone has the actual study, feel free to post:

People hoping vitamins can protect their hearts need to eat healthful foods

instead of popping pills, the American Heart Association says.

A review of studies on whether supplements can reduce heart disease risk

shows they have virtually no effect, the group said in a statement published

yesterday in its journal, Circulation.

Antioxidants are molecules that work to reduce the damage done to cells

and to DNA by free radicals -- charged chemical particles caused by everyday

biological processes.

Foods rich in antioxidants can reduce the risk of cancer and heart

disease, and scientists have been working to isolate the compounds

responsible. Vitamins A and C are antioxidants.

But several studies have shown that people who took antioxidant

supplements did not have a lower risk of cancer or heart disease, and one

Finnish study showed that male smokers who took supplements actually had a

higher risk of lung cancer.

Nutritionists now think it is probably combinations of compounds in foods

that yield benefits.