important

Question
Considering the at-risk populations, which water soluble vitamins would you consider recommending as a supplement? What population, which vitamins, and why?

Answer
Chris,

I do not recommend any vitamin supplements for anyone at high risk for cardiovascular disease - aside from Niacin for certain lipid disorders, and then the Niacin is considered a medication.  Folic acid, B-6 and B-12 have a role in reducing Homocysteine, but the significance of reducing Homocysteine in people with, or at high risk for, cardiovascular disease is not overly convincing.

There are no controlled clinical trial that show any benefit from taking vitamin supplements in persons with cardiovascular disease or at high risk for cardiovascular.

Here is a link to a web page that has summaries for about a dozen clinical trial of antioxidant vitamin supplements:
http://home.comcast.net/~lipid-clinic/vitaminstudies.html

If you know of any clinical data that proves otherwise, I would be eager to evaluate the trial and its conclusions.

Best wishes.

Todd

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