DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE CONTAINS A GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE ABOVE TOPIC. IT IS NOT HEALTH ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY UPON THE INFORMATION GIVEN HERE. YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES MAY WELL REQUIRE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR MEDICATIONS, DIET, ACTIVITY, LIFESTYLE, ETC. WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING A LICENSED PHYSICIAN IN YOUR AREA.
Vitamins have been sold for a long time now with all sorts of claims for a variety of health benefits, most of which have no scientific basis whatsoever.
There are important exceptions to this. Pregnant women need supplemental vitamins and minerals. Patients with certain diseases or taking certain medications also may require vitamin and mineral supplements. Vitamins are also commonly prescribed for newborn infants.
Vitamin supplementation had been thought to be beneficial in normal, healthy people to help prevent heart disease and beneficial to halt the progression of disease in cardiac patients. However, research studies have failed to confirm this hypothesis.
Current research has repeatedly demonstrated that there are no beneficial cardiovascular effects from the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E. Vitamin E in high doses may actually be harmful. Vitamins that lower the homocysteine level in the blood (folic acid, B6 and B12) have also failed to show any benefit in scientific studies.
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