Daily intake of Vitamins C & E benefit women taking oral contraceptives:Study

Daily intake of vitamins C and E supplements in women who receive oral contraceptives may protect them against the increase in oxidative stress, study reveals.

Conducted by researchers from the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran and published in a journal by the name contraception, the findings say a daily dosage of 150 mg and 200 IU of vitamin C and E, respectively, were associated with substantial decrease in levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), a reactive carbonyl compound and a well-established marker of oxidative stress, reported nutraingredients-usa.com.

The researchers at the university conducted the study on 120 healthy women, whom they randomly divided into three groups.

According to the researchers, the first group acted as controls as it was not given any medication.

On the other hand, the second group received oral contraceptives only of 0.03 mg ethinylestradiol and 0.15 mg levonorgestrel, and the third group received the contraceptives plus the vitamin supplements.

After four weeks of study, the researchers discovered that the contraceptive-only group experienced increases in MDA levels, while activities of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase were reduced.

The researchers said supplementation with vitamin C and E had significantly increased the activity of the antioxidant enzymes and reduced plasma MDA levels in the vitamin group.

The data has suggested that low-dose oral contraceptives, by enhancing the stress oxidative and lipid peroxidation may cause a potential cardiovascular risk factor, and the use of vitamins E and C may relieve the side effects caused by oral contraceptives.