From The October 2001 Issue of Nutrition Science News

Statins, Vitamins Don't Mix

DALLAS—Another side effect of some cholesterol-lowering drugs is that their benefits are diminished in the presence of antioxidant vitamin intake, according to a new one-year study published in the August issue of Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Patients with coronary artery disease were split into four groups: simvastatin (Zocor) and niacin; antioxidant vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, and selenium with the statin drug; antioxidants alone; or placebo. Researchers found that HDL levels increased 18 percent when they mixed the vitamins with cholesterol drugs, but 25 percent with the drug alone. HDL(2)-C, believed to account for much of HDL's benefit, increased 42 percent on drugs alone but was unchanged in patients who also received antioxidants. However, the study size was small, and other studies note that vitamin E reduces the risk of heart disease and, when used with simvastatin, improves markers of blood vessel elasticity more than the drug alone.