Six widely used dietary supplements promoted as effective at improving heart health by lowering LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol do no such thing, according to new research presented at the US Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022.
IbisWorld estimates the vitamin and supplements manufacturing industry is Australia is worth about $1.5 billion.
We obviously love to believe we need supplements and that they’re good for us.
The six supplements identified by the US Heart Association as being no more effective than a placebo at improving heart health after 28 days of use were: fish oil, cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, plant sterols and red yeast rice.
It did find that a common, low-dose cholesterol-lowering medication (a statin) had a substantial impact on bad cholesterol during the 28-day study period.
Study author Luke Laffin said the study sent an important public health message that dietary supplements commonly taken for ‘cholesterol health’ or ‘heart health’ were unlikely to offer meaningful impact on cholesterol levels.
A low-dose statin, however, offered important benefits.
Do you struggle to keep your cholesterol in the recommended range? Do you take supplements in the belief that they help?
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