Antioxidants can have beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

"Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. This beneficial vascular effect was associated with an improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism as well as significant decrease in blood pressure," said Reuven Zimlichman, from Wolfson Medical Center, Israel.

Zimlichman and his colleagues found that the patients who received antioxidants had more elastic arteries and better blood sugar and cholesterol profiles.

"The findings of the present study justify investigating the overall clinical impact of antioxidant treatment in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors," he said.

The results are published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism .