Study Results Show LifePak Significantly Improves Antioxidant Status

The ingredients of LifePak - vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients - are supported by hundreds of well-designed clinical studies. Unlike other multivitamin/mineral products, LifePak is also supported by two double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies, a 140-subject parallel design study and a 46-subject crossover study. Both studies tested the antioxidant effects of LifePak in healthy non-smokers.

In the completely randomized crossover study, a total of 50 healthy non-smokers were enrolled in the Evansville, Indiana area (1). The subjects did not take any antioxidant supplements or drugs other than the study products three months prior and during the study, and they consumed typical U.S. diets with less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. Twenty-five subjects received LifePak, and 25 received placebo for 6 weeks. After a six-week washout period, the treatments were reversed, so that each subject served as their own control. Blood samples were taken at the start and end of each treatment period and analyzed for serum antioxidants and LDL oxidizability. Four subjects dropped out, three of them for reasons not related to the study, and one due to mild adverse reactions to the placebo treatment.

The results showed that LifePak significantly improved antioxidant status as evidenced by increased serum concentrations of ascorbic acid (from 68.1 ± 24.8 to 94.3 ± 26.4 mmol/L, p £ 0.001; means ± SD, n=46) b-carotene (from 335 ± 197 to 716 ± 429 nmol/L; p £ 0.001), a-carotene (from 77 ± 82 to 592 ± 364 nmol/L, p £ 0.001), and vitamin E (a-tocopherol, from 20.0 ± 8.5 to 36.9 ± 13.0 mmol/L, p £ 0.001), with no changes in placebo treatment.

Most important, LifePak significantly decreased LDL (low-density lipoprotein) oxidizability, as the lag time was prolonged (by 17 %; p £ 0.001), and oxidation rate was reduced (p £ 0.001) without changes with placebo treatment. LDL oxidizability is believed to be an important factor in cardiovascular health, because oxidized LDL tend to adhere to the inner arterial wall more than non-oxidized LDL that are protected by antioxidants (2).

In summary, this study concluded that LifePak significantly increased antioxidant status, and decreased LDL oxidizability in healthy non-smokers consuming typical U.S. diets. Therefore, LifePak supplementation may have cardiovascular health benefits. Results also confirmed the assumption that a complex antioxidant nutrient combination can be efficacious in the presence of a full spectrum of non-antioxidant nutrients in a nutritionally complete vitamin/mineral/phytonutrient supplement.

A second LifePak clinical study, i.e., the 150-subject parallel design study, was conducted in the Houston, Texas area, and confirmed the results obtained from the crossover study in essentially all measurements. Antioxidant status was significantly improved and LDL oxidizability was reduced to very similar degree as in the Evansville, Indiana study. Thus, the antioxidant and cardiovascular benefits of LifePak are supported by two independent well-designed, double-blind clinical studies.

Carsten Smidt, Ph.D.
Sr. Director, Pharmacology & Clinical Affairs

[Read Original Article]
[Also See Abstract]

SupplementWatch.com comments on LifePak Clinical Studies:
"LifePak has been the subject of two clinical studies designed to assess the antioxidant benefits of the product – quite a significant fact when you consider that we know of NO other supplement companies that have sponsored clinical studies on their multivitamin products. Both studies (which have only been published in abstract form) showed a significant increase in blood levels of antioxidants (ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and alpha-tocopherol) and an increase in the ability of LDL cholesterol to withstand oxidation (a significant factor related to formation of atherosclerotic deposits). It should be emphasized again that it is quite unprecedented for a supplement company to conduct rigorous clinical efficacy studies on a multi-vitamin product, and we applaud Pharmanex for their efforts in this regard."

[Read Original Article (paid membership required)]