Antioxidants + heart drugs = bad medicine?
By Janet Raloff
Many adults take medicine to control their cholesterol–usually statin drugs and sometimes the vitamin niacin. Adding antioxidant supplements to such a daily drug regimen may not be a good idea–at least for people with low concentrations of the so-called good cholesterol, a new study concludes.
Two major classes of lipoproteins shuttle cholesterol around in blood. Low-density lipoproteins, or LDLs, deliver cholesterol to vessel walls, where it can foster artery-clogging plaque. High-density lipoproteins, or HDLs, appear to remove cholesterol from the vascular system.