Vitamins not always helpful in preventing heart disease

A healthy diet is better

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Vitamins and supplements are not the best way to lower your risk of heart disease, instead Cardiologist Dr. Je Park says eating in moderation and nutritious foods is the most bene cial.

According to Park, of Aurora Denver Cardiology Associates at e Medical Center of Aurora, aIS vitamins can help the body but they can also be harmful as there are also toxicities.

“If vitamins were universally acceptable to improve heart health, then I believe that there would be a strong push for the FDA to approve these and say, everyone with heart disease should be on these vitamins, these supplements,” said Park. “But there’s never going to be that push.” e risk of heart disease is not strictly determined by the food one consumes. Rick factors also include environment and genetics.

Park says people need to realize there are a lot of lters in supplements and people don’t always know what’s in them.

Vitamins and supplements can be seen as alternatives to modern medicine but the unknown of what exactly is in pills can have an a ect on the body.

“Without some form of regulation, and if you don’t know what those pills are lled with, right?” said Park.

“And so, the actual vitamin itself might be safe, but the stu that’s in it with it, you have no idea about.”

A 2018 publication of Circulation: Cardiovascu- lar Quality and Outcomes concluded multivitamins do not reduce cardiovascular disease, heart attacks or strokes.

In addition, John Hopkins researchers - including Dr. Edgar R. Miller III, say consuming too much of certain vitamins can be harmful.

“Too much calcium and vitamin D are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” Miller said in the John Hopkins article. Food and proper nutrients is the best way to manage heart health. e American Heart Association suggests getting adequate nutrients through a variety of foods in moderation instead of supplements.

Park said breaking habits is stressful and eating a healthy diet is becoming expensive, which is why moderation is important.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are an exception as they have been associated with decreased risk of heart disease.

“When I see patients for the rst time and a lot of them do have a lot of comorbid conditions, metabolic syndrome, they’re obese, they have diabetes and it’s a matter of if they’ve had bad habits for a long period of time,” said Park.

Park says that it is a team e ort.

“I can’t change how you work, what kind of foods you’re accessible to,” said Park. “But the only advice I can give you is that you can do those things but in moderation.”