Nutritional supplements in Cardiology. What should we recommend to our patients?

Overview

There have been great developments in the production of nutritional supplements over the past decade in the food industry. Production and sales have soared. Select dietary factors have been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties in vitro and attention has been paid to their use with both healthy and ill people. Clinicians caring for patients should know about the effect of these agents and how to use them with specific groups of patients. The subject of this review is a basic overview of the most commonly used agents (L arginine, taurine, coenzyme Q 10, carnitine, creatine, omega 3 fatty acids), their clinical effects and the results of clinical studies.

Key words:
nutritional supplements, L arginine, taurine, coenzyme Q 10, carnitine, creatine, omega 3 fatty acids, clinical studies.