Sunday, January 21, 2007

Vitamins And Heart Disease

It is generally accepted that high levels of the amino acid homocysteine is a risk factor in heart disease. Because vitamin B12 has been shown to reduce homocysteine levels, it has been assumed that vitamin B12 would reduce deaths by cardiovascular disease. But recent studies seem to dispute that conclusion.

A review of 12 studies with 16,598 participants who had pre-existing illness found no correlation between the amount of reduction in blood levels of homocysteine and the risk of heart attacks, coronary heart disease, stroke or mortality from any cause. In addition, there was no difference in mortality between study participants who received supplements and the control group who took none.

The study is published in the December 13, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.