CRN calls for more CV research on B vitamins

The Council for Responsible Nutrition, the USA-based trade association for the dietary supplement industry, has called for more research into the cardiovascular benefits of vitamin B, following data presented at the American Heart Association's scientific sessions, held in Chicago, Illinois.

In reaction to encouraging results from the Women's Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Study on folic acid and other B vitamins in the secondary prevention of CV events in women, the CRN is calling for more reasarch on whether life-long, generous intake of B vitamins could confer benefit in primary prevention of CV disease.

According to the CRN, the WAFCAS trial, which included 5,442 women, studied for 7.3 years, is one of several that have tested B vitamins in those who were already ill with heart disease and, while it would have been exciting if the results had demonstrated that B vitamins could either reverse disease or prevent future CV events, nutrients should not be expected to perform like drugs. Annette Dickinson, a former president of the CRN, noted that "it is unrealistic to expect vitamins to undo damage caused by heart disease, nor should consumers look to B vitamins to treat disease. The real question should be whether a healthy lifestyle and consistent use of vitamins could have prevented these women from getting heart disease in the first place."