A daily dose of multivitamins does not prevent heart disease. Although a recent study suggested that taking a multivitamin may help men reduce their risk of developing cancer, researchers found no benefit from multivitamins in preventing heart attacks, strokes or death from cardiovascular causes.
This experiment, which ran for more than a decade, randomly assigned 14,000 male physicians to take a vitamin or a placebo pill. This kind of randomized controlled trial represents the gold standard in scientific evidence. People who take a multi-vitamin to fill in gaps in their diet may still benefit, but they should not expect that this will protect them from heart disease. Exercise and a healthy diet are still the cornerstones of heart health and cannot be replaced with a pill.
