According to a report brought to my attention by Sciencedaily.com, a study on the risk of major cardiovascular events while taking vitamin C and E showed no effect in reducing their incidence.

While the historical studies seemed to suggest that vitamin E and C supplementation might reduce cardiovascular disease on account of their anti-oxidant properties; in this prospective study of 14,641 physicians, there was no significant difference in total mortality between the supplemented group and the placebo group.

Also, vitamin E supplementation was associated with a slightly increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. This might be linked to the finding that excess vitamin E can go beyond reducing the likelihood of unwanted clots, instead causing bleeding.

In conclusion, the authors write:

In this large, long-term trial of male physicians, neither vitamin E nor vitamin C supplementation reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events. These data provide no support for the use of these supplements for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and older men.

What does this mean for avid vitamin supplementers such as me? Well, nothing yet. Vitamins E and C are still antioxidants and still hold promise for a range of other beneficial effects related to these properties. Just because reducing the risk of cardiovascular events is no longer considered to be part of their repertoires (at least at these dosages), a wide range of benefits is still attributed to vitamin C and vitamin E.

To be honest, in devising my own supplementation regimen, I automatically added these antioxidant vitamins without carrying out much research, simply because their popularity gives them such credence. I’m thinking now that it might be worthwhile taking a closer look at what has been coming out of research departments recently regarding their efficacy.

Reference: Vitamins E and C in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Men. JAMA, 2008;300(18)