Long-term vitamin C supplementation has no markedly favourable effect on serum lipids in middle-aged Japanese subjects

Kim, Mi Kyung; Sasaki, Satoshi; Sasazuki, Shizuka; Okubo, Shunji; Hayashi, Masato; Tsugane, Shoichiro

doi:10.1079/bjn20031024

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The hypothesis of the protective effect of antioxidants is supported by the fact they can inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, a particularly atherogenic molecule (11). Antioxidant micronutrients (vitamins and trace elements) also are reportedly associated with an improved blood profile, but these results are not consistent (12) since β-carotene and zinc are suspected of affecting the serum lipid profile adversely (13,14). Moreover, most of the antioxidant supplementation trials testing the impact on circulating lipid concentrations have been short term, have involved a small number of participants, and have presented some methodological limitations.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low‐dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study

Herçberg

Bertrais

Czernichow

et al. 2005

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Antioxidant micronutrients have been reported to be associated with an improvement in the blood profile, but the results are not consistent. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of antioxidant supplementation on changes in the serum lipid profile of adult participants in the SU.VI.MAX study. French adults (n = 12,741: 7,713 females aged 35-60 yr, and 5,028 males aged 45-60 yr) received daily antioxidant supplementation (120 mg vitamin C, 30 mg vitamin E, 6 mg beta-carotene, 100 microg selenium, and 20 mg zinc) or a matching placebo. Median follow-up time was 7.5 yr. After 7.5 yr, no effect of supplementation on total cholesterol was observed in men or women after adjusting for baseline total cholesterol levels and lipid-lowering medications. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (> or =6.5 mmol/L) showed a trend toward being higher in women who received supplements compared with those who received the placebo (P= 0.06). In both sexes, the group receiving supplements exhibited higher mean serum TG concentrations than did the placebo group (P= 0.06 in men; P= 0.05 in women). The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (> or =2.3 mmol/L) was also significantly higher in men who received supplements (P= 0.03), but not in women. Our results suggest than long-term daily supplementation with low doses of beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, selenium, and zinc does not result in an improved lipid profile and could even adversely affect some blood lipids, possibly with a higher risk of hyperlipidemia in women.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low‐dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study

Herçberg

Bertrais

Czernichow

et al. 2005

Lipids

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the protocol amendment (cessation of b-carotene supplementation and change in the end point from gastric cancer incidence to biomarkers) is not directly related to respiratory disease, including the common cold, or interest in vitamin C. In fact, there was no difference in baseline characteristics between the low-dose group (n ¼ 144) and high-dose group (n ¼ 161) who participated in the modified trial (Kim et al, 2004), which means that the randomization almost was maintained even though 134 subjects dropped out early in the study before and at the time of protocol amendment. Of the 305 subjects who participated in the modified trial, 244 (80%) subjects completed the trial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of vitamin C on common cold: randomized controlled trial

Sasazuki¹,

Sasaki

Tsubono

et al. 2005

Eur J Clin Nutr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the common cold and vitamin C supplementation. Design: A double-blind, 5-year randomized controlled trial. Setting: A village in Akita prefecture, one of the regions in Japan with the highest mortality from gastric cancer. Subjects: Participants in annual screening programs for circulatory diseases conducted under the National Health and Welfare Services Law for the Aged, and diagnosed as having atrophic gastritis. Of the 439 eligible subjects, 144 and 161 were assigned to receive 50 or 500 mg of vitamin C, respectively, after protocol amendment. During the supplementation phase, 61 dropped out, and 244 completed the trial. Intervention: Daily vitamin C supplementation of 50 mg (low-dose group) or 500 mg (high-dose group). Results: Total number of common colds (per 1000 person-months) was 21.3 and 17.1 for the low-and high-dose groups, respectively. After adjustment for several factors, the relative risks (95% confidence interval (CI)) of suffering from a common cold three or more times during the survey period was 0.34 (0.12-0.97) for the high-dose group. No apparent reduction was seen for the severity and duration of the common cold. Conclusion: A randomized, controlled 5-year trial suggests that vitamin C supplementation significantly reduces the frequency of the common cold but had no apparent effect on the duration or severity of the common cold. However, considering several limitations due to protocol amendment, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

show abstract

“…The person who becomes happier and more resourceful often also becomes more healthy, talented, and more able to function [27,28,29]. Interestingly, energy, wisdom, happiness, talent, intelligence, and the human qualities alike are not easily increased with drugs; considering this sad fact, it can hardly be a surprise that health in general, so related to these qualities, is also very difficult to improve with drugs.…”

Section: Clinical Holistic Medicine Is Based On the Life Mission Theomentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In our opinion, vitamin and mineral supplements do very little to promote health, objectively speaking. Most scientific studies conclude that minerals and vitamins like vitamin C, widely believed to be beneficial for the general health, make no difference to a person's health [29,30], except in the very few people suffering from a deficiency condition, while other studies show only what seems to be a modest, beneficial effect [31]. So why do people still take these pills?…”

Section: Vitamin and Mineral Supplementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Holistic Medicine: Use and Limitations of the Biomedical Paradigm

Ventegodt

Morad

Hyam

et al. 2004

The Scientific World JOURNAL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The biomedical paradigm is so convincing from a biochemical point of view, and highly efficient in many cases of acute medical problems and emergencies, but unfortunately most patients do not get much better only treated with drugs; they need to do something about their lives themselves.It is highly important for the modern physician to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the modern biomedical paradigm, to understand when and when not to administer drugs to their patients. Often a symptom can be eliminated for a while with drugs, but this is not always good as the patient might need to learn to study the imbalances in life that cause the disturbances and symptoms. For the elderly patient, sometimes life can be extended in spite of the subjective fact that life has come to its end. Sometimes treatment with a drug can teach the patient that quality of life is the responsibility of the physician and not the patient. This learned attitude can give the patient problems later or make them less active in helping themselves (responsibility transfer in the wrong direction). This paper gives a number of examples where medical drugs really are the treatment of choice in general practice and some more doubtful examples of using of the biomedical paradigm.

show abstract

Long-term vitamin C supplementation has no markedly favourable effect on serum lipids in middle-aged Japanese subjects

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low‐dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study

Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low‐dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study

Effect of vitamin C on common cold: randomized controlled trial

Clinical Holistic Medicine: Use and Limitations of the Biomedical Paradigm

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About