The Study
Oral antioxidants and cardiovascular health in the exercise-trained and untrained elderly: a radically different outcome.
This study watched what happened to six older men when they exercised and took vitamin pills. It didn't test if the pills caused the changes — it just saw what occurred in those six people. So we can't say it will happen to anyone else.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Exercise helps older people lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel health, but taking antioxidant pills right after working out can wipe out those benefits.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 545 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — a 12 mmHg drop in systolic BP is clinically meaningful for older adults with high blood pressure; losing that gain could increase heart disease risk.
- 2After 6 weeks of leg exercise: BP dropped from 150/91 to 138/79 mmHg; blood vessel function (FMD) improved from 1.5% to 4.9%.
- 3After taking antioxidant pills: BP went back to 150/91 and FMD dropped back to 1.5%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinical science
Year
2009
Authors
D. Wray, Abhimanyu Uberoi, L. Lawrenson, D. Bailey, R. Richardson
Related Content
Claims (4)
In six elderly men with mild hypertension, six weeks of leg exercise lowered their resting blood pressure and improved the ability of their blood vessels to dilate in response to increased blood flow.
In six elderly men with mild hypertension, taking antioxidant supplements after six weeks of leg exercise canceled out the blood pressure and blood vessel function improvements gained from the exercise, bringing them back to their original levels before training.
In elderly men with mild high blood pressure, taking antioxidant supplements before exercise does not change their resting blood pressure or the ability of their blood vessels to widen in response to increased blood flow.
In older adults, taking antioxidant supplements alongside exercise leads to greater improvements in health outcomes than exercise alone, due to a reduction in oxidative stress caused by aging.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.