London, July 6 (IANS) Dietary antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E, if taken as supplements over a long period of time, keep arteries healthy and supple in patients who drink and smoke, says a study.
Antioxidants protect cells from the attacks of free radicals – molecules responsible for aging and tissue damage.
Researchers reported these positive results in a randomised controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules.
Reuven Zimlichman and other researchers from the Wolfson Medical Centre, Israel, studied 70 patients from the centre’s hypertension clinic.
‘Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk (smoking and drinking) factors,’ said Zimlichman.
‘It also improved glucose and lipid metabolism and decreased blood pressure,’ he added. These findings were published in Nutrition and Metabolism.
