Research
Mixed
Antioxidant vitamin supplementation is not recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease due to lack of safety and efficacy evidence.
Do not rely on antioxidant vitamin supplements (like Vitamin C, E, or beta-carotene) to prevent heart disease. Current evidence does not support their safety or effectiveness for this purpose.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Research continues to refine the recommendations on detection and management of established risk factors, including evidence against the safety and efficacy of interventions once thought promising (eg, antioxidant vitamins).
Why this rating
Based on evidence cited against safety and efficacy.
Source
AHA Guidelines for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: 2002 Update
Thomas A. Pearson et al. · Circulation · 2002
DOI 10.1161/01.cir.0000020190.45892.75
clinical_guidelineCited 1,858×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Adopting a combination of healthy lifestyle habits—maintaining desirable body weight, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, not smoking, and consuming moderate alcohol—can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 84%.Good
- Low-dose aspirin (75-160 mg/day) is recommended for primary prevention in individuals with a 10-year coronary heart disease risk of 10% or higher.Good
Related findings · Mixed
- Bariatric surgery (VSG and RYGB) is the most effective and sustainable treatment for obesity, producing marked and sustained weight loss that non-surgical interventions cannot match.Strong
- Severely protein-deficient diets (2–3% energy) induce lean body mass loss and metabolic imbalance, whereas adequate protein intake (0.66 g/kg/d minimum) is a prerequisite for maintaining muscle, bone, and physiological function.Strong
- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →