Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Supplementation with antioxidant vitamins (E, C, beta-carotene) fails to provide cardiovascular protection and may increase mortality or fatal CHD risk in large clinical trials.
Do not rely on high-dose antioxidant supplements (Vitamins E, C, Beta-Carotene) to prevent heart disease. Large clinical trials show they offer no benefit and may increase mortality risk. Focus on obtaining antioxidants from whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead.
StrongRefutesVERY_HIGH confidence
A total of 22 trials (n = 134,590 subjects)... a majority of the results (14 trials) have been disappointing failing to demonstrate any significant benefit with vitamin C, E, and β-carotene supplementation. Furthermore, within five trials, such antioxidant supplementation was associated with increased all-cause mortality and two have shown higher risk of fatal CHD (ATBC and CARET) [79,96].
Why this rating
Based on massive pooled data from 22 trials involving over 134,000 subjects, showing consistent lack of benefit or harm.
Source
Nutraceuticals and Atherosclerosis: Human Trials
Lina Badimón et al. · Cardiovascular Therapeutics · 2010
DOI 10.1111/j.1755-5922.2010.00189.x
narrative_reviewCited 221×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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