Benefits of Centrum Cardio

Although Centrum Cardio is primarily used for lowering high cholesterol, it may also be effective at promoting heart health, preventing free-radical damage, and maintaining a healthy blood pressure. This non-prescription multivitamin contains plant sterols, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. The other benefits of Centrum Cardio have not been thoroughly studied; more research is needed to support these claims.

 

Possible Centrum Cardio Benefits

Centrum Cardio® is a non-prescription multivitamin that contains phytosterols (plant sterols).
 
Plant sterols are best known for their ability to lower cholesterol. This benefit has been so thoroughly studied that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows certain products that contain plant sterols (including Centrum Cardio) to carry a health claim stating that such products can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
 
Centrum Cardio is also claimed to provide certain other heart-health benefits. However, the FDA has not evaluated these claims, and these products must carry a disclaimer that says the product is not designed to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. These other heart-health benefits of Centrum Cardio include:
 
  • Promoting heart health due to the high content of vitamins B6 and B12
  • Preventing free-radical damage due to the antioxidant content, which includes vitamins C and E
  • Maintaining a healthy blood pressure due to the calcium and folic acid content.
     
Some of these claims are more scientifically valid than others (see Does Centrum Cardio Work? for more information).
 

How Does Centrum Cardio Work?

Centrum Cardio vitamins contain a variety of different vitamins and minerals that are also found in many multivitamins.
 However, Centrum Cardio contains phytosterols (plant sterols), which are plant compounds that may help to lower cholesterol. Because plant sterols are not absorbed well from the digestive system to the rest of the body, they work mostly within the digestive system. Plant sterols primarily work by blocking the absorption of cholesterol from the intestine.
 
(Benefits of Centrum Cardio Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;