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B VITAMINS
Three B vitamins appear to offer powerful protection for your heart: folic acid (also known as folate), B-6, and B-12.
When scientists talk about folic acid, they usually stress its importance in reducing the risk of birth defects. Healthy babies are indeed the best-established benefit. But even if there's no bassinet in your future, don't forget these B's; they might save your life.
"It looks like getting B vitamins -- from foods or supplements -- is nearly as important as stopping smoking, lowering high cholesterol, and controlling blood pressure when it comes to preventing a heart attack," says epidemiologist Eric Rimm of Harvard University.
In 1998 Rimm and his colleagues reported that women who got ample folic acid and B-6 suffered heart attacks only about half as often as women who took in meager amounts. The finding may help clear up an enduring mystery: Half of all heart attack victims have cholesterol levels that are in the desirable range. More and more experts are coming to accept the notion that in some cases the culprit is an amino acid called homocysteine.
Homocysteine is thought to scar blood vessels, setting the stage for artery-narrowing deposits. Unfortunately, your body produces this substance when it digests animal protein. How might B vitamins help? They may work to dispose of homocysteine before it wreaks havoc. All three of these vitamins are found in a variety of ordinary foods. And synthetic folic acid is sprayed onto enriched grains. Still, you can't count on getting the recommended 400 micrograms of folic acid from food unless you eat a bowl of fully fortified breakfast cereal every day.
As for B-6, studies have shown that up to half of women over age 50 don't get enough. And up to a third of those over 50 have trouble absorbing B-12 from food.
The bottom line:
You need more of these vitamins than your meals likely supply. The easiest way to get them in the proper balance is by taking a once-a-day multivitamin. Shop for a multi with 400 mcg of folic acid, 2 milligrams of B-6, and 6 mcg of B-12; most contain these amounts.
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