Summary Increased adipose tissue is associated with a higher risk of metabolic disease and arteriosclerosis. This study from the USA investigated whether aged garlic extract can inhibit the progression of arteriosclerosis. Sixty volunteers took part in this study who took garlic extract for 12 months. At the end of the study period, the researchers found…
Summary A meta-analysis was used to examine the effect of folic acid supplementation in patients with cardiovascular diseases. A total of 12 randomized controlled trials with 47,523 participants were evaluated. The researchers found that supplementation led to a significantly reduced risk of stroke in patients with cardiovascular disease. Further details can be found in the…
Summary A systematic review and meta-analysis were used to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with coenzyme Q10 on the lipid profile of patients with coronary heart disease. The lipid profile is considered an important indicator for the development of heart disease. 8 studies were included, with 267 participants in intervention groups and 259 in…
Summary This study investigated the effects of an increased dietary intake of vitamin C, carotenoids, and α-tocopherol (vitamin E) on the risk of cardiovascular disease. For this purpose, 69 prospective studies were analyzed that included participants who adjusted their diet according to an increased vitamin intake. The result showed that the intake of vitamin C,…
Summary Cholesterol-lowering drugs, so-called statins, are intended to prevent heart attacks or strokes in people with coronary heart disease. However, they are associated with several side effects. This meta-analysis evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation with coenzyme Q10 on statin-induced muscle damage. The analysis of 12 studies with 575 patients showed that coenzyme Q10 can…
Summary This meta-analysis was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on coronary heart disease. For this purpose, 18 randomized controlled trials and 16 prospective cohort studies were analyzed. The studies suggest that the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are associated with a reduced…
Summary Several American and Italian research institutes investigated the effects of fish oil supplementation on bleedings before, during, and after a surgical operation to prevent major bleedings. The study was conducted in 1516 patients who had a planned cardiac surgery. The study showed that fish oil supplementation did not increase the number of bleedings (which…
Summary A study conducted by several German researchers investigated 20 trauma patients with disorders in wound healing. For 14 days, these patients received a supplement containing antioxidant micronutrients. The level of micronutrients and other parameters were measured before and after the supplementation period. Additionally, the period of wound closure was measured. The results showed that…
Summary This study is an overview of three trials investigating the effect of vitamin C supplementation on cold-induced asthma attacks. In total, 79 people participated. All three studies found beneficial effects of vitamin C supplementation against asthma attacks and other asthma symptoms. According to these studies, the administration of vitamin C alleviates common cold symptoms…
Summary Early signs of vitamin C deficiency often go unrecognized and may manifest as a reduced desire to be physically active. Moreover, it is often associated with increased cold duration and severity. A study conducted by several American institutes investigated the effects of vitamin C supplementation on physical activity and respiratory tract infections during the…
Summary This study is an overview of several studies on the preventive effects of vitamin D supplementation on acute respiratory tract infections. 25 eligible studies were identified based on individual participant data. These studies showed a reduced risk of acute respiratory tract infections and a preventive and protective effect in all participants after daily or…
Summary This study addressed the question of whether oral intake of vitamin C can reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation after on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. One hundred patients were studied and divided into two groups. Group 1 received 2 g of oral vitamin C before surgery and 500 mg of vitamin C…
Summary The present study investigated whether dietary supplementation with vitamin C can reduce the length of ICU and hospital stay after cardiac surgery. The study involved 290 adults who received 2 g of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) intravenously immediately before surgery. Daily oral administration of 1 g of vitamin C was also given for the…
Summary In this study from China, subjects with stable coronary heart disease were evaluated for a positive change in their inflammation levels and blood lipids following vitamin B supplementation. After 12 weeks, concentrations of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and HDL levels were significantly improved. A change in homocysteine blood levels, considered a risk factor for numerous…
Summary A meta-analysis examined eight studies that included 267 participants in intervention groups and 259 subjects in placebo groups. The analysis results showed that taking coenzyme Q10 significantly lowered total cholesterol levels and increased HDL (“good cholesterol”) cholesterol levels in participants with coronary heart disease. Please see the study for more information. References Mohammad Vahid…
Summary A combination of vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B1), and hydrocortisone was investigated in 24 patients with septic shock after cardiac surgery. The participants were divided into two groups: group 1 received a placebo, and group 2 received a combination of the mentioned micronutrients. After 4 days, the required vasopressor dose (medication that tends to…
Summary In this study, the effects of a combination of vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B1), and hydrocortisone were investigated in a treatment group of 53 patients with severe pneumonia. These patients were compared to a control group of 46 patients who did not receive this micronutrient combination. The results showed that the mortality rate decreased…
Summary This meta-analysis included 8 trials with 685 patients in total. Results showed that vitamin C decreased the length of mechanical ventilation on average by 14%. Vitamin C showed beneficial effects, particularly in patients with the longest ventilation (most severe diseased patients). In 5 trials, including 471 patients requiring ventilation for over 10 hours, ventilation…
Summary A review by the University of Connecticut in the USA showed that vitamin C deficiency can increase cardiovascular disease risk. Some studies reported a positive effect of vitamin C on blood pressure and endothelial function. Further details can be found in the study. References Melissa A Moser, Ock K Chun Link to article…
Summary Numerous studies confirm a link between vitamin D deficiency and thrombosis. Among other things, it has been shown that improvements can be achieved after just three months of supplementation. Further details can be found in the study. References Syed Mohammad, Aastha Mishra, Mohammad Zahid Ashraf Link to article >>
Summary More than 10,790 Chinese adults with hypertension and stroke were studied, with one group receiving a hypertension drug. The other subjects received 0.8 mg of folic acid daily in addition to the drug therapy. At the end of the study period, a 73% reduction in the risk of stroke was observed. Further details can…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose intravenous vitamin C supplementation in patients receiving intensive care treatment for Covid-19. 54 critically ill patients were involved in this study, including 26 patients who received the vitamin C infusion and 28 patients who received a placebo infusion. According to this study, vitamin C supplementation is an…
Summary This study investigated the effect of high-dose zinc infusions on Covid-19 patients. 33 hospitalized adults participated in this study, including 15 patients who received a high-dose zinc infusion and 18 patients who received a placebo. Participants with zinc infusion showed an improved zinc level after the administration period, without adverse side effects. More details…
Summary 986 hospitalized patients with Covid-19 were involved in this study, including 151 patients (16%) who received vitamin D therapy. This study showed that supplementation of vitamin D reduced the risk of mortality in Covid-19 patients. More details can be found in the study. References Stephanie F Ling, Eleanor Broad, Rebecca Murphy, Joseph M Pappachan,…
Summary This study investigated the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in Covid-19 patients. 66 residents of a nursing home participated in the study. The patients received the vitamin D3 supplementation during or in the month before the Covid-19 infection (intervention group). It was shown that vitamin D3 intake was associated with less severe Covid-19 and…
Summary This study investigated the effects of vitamin D on inflammatory factors in COVID-19 patients. One group of patients received vitamin D daily; the other group only received the standard treatment. The results showed that vitamin D supplementation has a beneficial effect on COVID-19 by reducing inflammatory factors. No side effects were observed. More details…
Summary A double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted by the University of Nashville investigated the relationship between a dietary supplement containing green tea extract and its effect on cholesterol levels. 240 men and women over 18 years of age with low to moderate increases in blood cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) were examined over a period of 3 months. Study…
Summary In another large randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which involved several American universities, the influence of green tea extracts (catechins) was investigated. The study participants were all postmenopausal women, with 936 of them completing the one-year trial. Compared to the control group, catechin supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in total and LDL cholesterol…
Summary A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of two B vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B6) on the metabolism of patients with coronary heart disease. After three months of vitamin B supplementation, the three most important risk factors of fat metabolism showed a significant improvement. Blood levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol were…
Summary As early as 1992, the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston published a randomized field study involving several hundreds of participants of all age groups. The results of the study showed that increased vitamin C blood levels were associated with a reduction in LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) and an increase…
Summary Diabetes is a known risk factor during pregnancy, when the disease can lead to serious complications as a result of metabolic disorder. A randomized, controlled study at Shanghai University Hospital investigated the effect of vitamin D on the progression of gestational diabetes. Supplementation with high-dose vitamin D significantly improved the insulin needs and other…
Summary A randomized, controlled clinical trial at Cairo University Medical Clinic examined the effect of a dietary supplement containing a combination of B vitamins (B1, B6 and B12) on patients with type 1 diabetes. After only 3 months, this dietary supplement led to a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose levels, long-term blood glucose (HbA1c),…
Summary A randomized clinical trial investigated the effect of vitamin C supplementation on blood glucose control and blood pressure in diabetic patients. After 4 months of vitamin C supplementation, participants showed an improvement in blood sugar levels and a reduction in blood pressure compared to the placebo group. Further details can be found in the…
Summary In another randomized and controlled clinical trial, a joint team of researchers from the University Hospitals of Frankfurt and Hanover examined the effects of vitamin D administration on diabetes progression. The results of this clinical study showed that vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced insulin demands and significantly improved long-term blood glucose levels (HbA1c). No…
Summary 60 patients with type 2 diabetes and low vitamin D levels were enrolled in a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the progression of the disease. Patients who received a vitamin D supplement had a significant reduction in their long-term diabetes score (HbA1c). Blood pressure and blood…
Summary Another randomized double-blind study was conducted as part of an international collaboration between the universities of Copenhagen, Melbourne, Vienna, Warsaw and other hospitals. The study included 420 patients and investigated the influence of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on the progression of chronic heart failure over a period of 2 years. According to the researchers, coenzyme…
Summary In a comprehensive study conducted as part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 13,131 participants were examined over a period of 12 years. The aim of the study was to find out if low vitamin D blood levels had an effect on the mortality rate of the study participants. The study…
Summary A study carried out by the University of Jerusalem examined the association between vitamin D blood levels and vitamin D supplementation on the mortality rate of patients with heart failure. The study compared 3,009 patients with low vitamin D levels with a control group comprising 46,825 participants . The study showed that vitamin D…
Summary In a randomized clinical trial involving patients suffering from chronic heart failure, the effect of dietary supplements containing a vitamin-mineral combination was investigated. The study was carried out at the Charité Clinic in Berlin and showed that the pumping function of the heart (left ventricular ejection fraction) was significantly improved by the dietary supplement.…
Summary An analysis of 12 clinical trials investigated the correlation between coenzyme Q10 supplementation, a cofactor of cellular energy metabolism, and hypertension. Based on all results, the researchers concluded that coenzyme Q10 supplementation can reduce systolic blood pressure by up to 17 points (mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure by up to 10 points. Among the…
Summary In an evaluation of 11 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, the correlation between dietary supplementation with the natural amino acid arginine and changes in blood pressure was investigated. The analysis of these trials showed that arginine supplementation led to a highly significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. One particularly remarkable aspect of this…
Summary In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with patients suffering from an early form of hypertension (pre-hypertension and stage 1 hypertension), the effect of quercetin on blood pressure was investigated. This dietary supplement led to a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The reduction in diastolic blood pressure was statistically significant (P < 0.01).…
Summary An analysis of 8 clinical trials investigating the association between vitamin C supplementation and essential hypertension showed that vitamin C supplementation led to a significant reduction in blood pressure. For daily supplementation above 500 mg of vitamin C, these results were even statistically significant (P = 0.005). What is particularly remarkable about this research…
Summary A clinical epidemiological study involving more than 2,400 participants in Finland investigated the association between blood levels of vitamin C and the occurrence of stroke. The study participants were patients with hypertension – a condition associated with an increased risk of stroke – who were observed over a period of 10.4 years. The results…
Summary In a clinical study in Stockholm, the association between the use of multivitamin supplements and the occurrence of heart attacks was investigated in almost 3,000 study participants. Participants taking multivitamins had a significantly reduced risk of heart attacks. Further details can be found in the study. References Mary L Fantacone, Malcolm B Lowry, Sandra L Uesugi…
Summary A clinical study among more than 40,000 Japanese people, investigated the association between the intake of green tea, which is rich in natural polyphenols, and the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The consumption of large quantities of green tea was associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular mortality, including a clear reduction in…
Summary A clinical study conducted at the University of Kansas investigated the associations between vitamin D blood levels, vitamin D supplementation and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Of 10,899 patients observed over a period of 5 years and 8 months, low vitamin D levels were associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease and…
Summary In a clinical study coordinated by the Department of Age Research and Preventive Oncology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, several thousand study participants were observed over a period of 9.5 years. The study investigated the association between vitamin D deficiency and the most common causes of death. A direct link was…
Summary In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving patients with coronary heart disease, a Norwegian team of doctors showed that micronutrient supplementation with folic acid (vitamin B9) and vitamin B12 had a positive effect on the blood supply to the coronary arteries. During the study period of two years, both basic and maximum blood flow…
Summary A study conducted at the University of California in Los Angeles showed that an increased vitamin intake had a positive effect on the progression of coronary heart disease. This study provided strong evidence because it was documented using coronary angiography. The researchers found an association between supplementary vitamin E intake and an angiographically demonstrated…