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Multivitamin supplementation lowers LDL cholesterol oxidation and homocysteine

The October 2003 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition published the results of a double-blinded placebo controlled study that reveal the protective benefit of multivitamin supplementation against coronary heart disease. The trial sought to verify preliminary data discovered in a pilot trial published in Applied Nutritional Investigation in 2002.

Researchers from the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas, in conjunction with Tufts University and the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center randomized 182 participants to receive a twenty-four ingredient multinutrient supplement or a placebo, and measured homocysteine, lipids, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol oxidation as well as levels of several vitamins at the study's onset and at six months.

While vitamin levels predictably rose in the supplemented group, homocysteine and LDL oxidation were more greatly reduced than in the placebo group, with decreases of 17 and 14 percent, respectively. At the same time, the LDL oxidation rate declined and lag time (resistance to oxidation) increased in the supplemented group.

Elevations in both homocysteine levels and LDL cholesterol oxidation are risk factors for coronary heart disease. The amino acid homocysteine , dubbed “the cholesterol of the 21 st century, has been found in several studies to be associated with the early development of cardiovascular disease, and is also associated with deficiencies of folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12. LDL cholesterol, when oxidized, is more likely to adhere to arterial walls leading to increased plaque formation, and antioxidant vitamins may help to prevent this. Reductions in these two risk factors may help protect against heart attacks and other cardiovascular events.