The team enrolled 70 patients from a hypertension clinic, who were randomized to receive either antioxidants or placebo capsules for six months. Tests at the beginning of the trial, after three months and at the six month mark revealed that the patients in the antioxidant group had more elastic arteries (a measure of increased cardiovascular health) and better blood sugar and cholesterol profiles. Observing that: “Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors,” the researchers write that: “This beneficial vascular effect was associated with an improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism as well as decrease in blood pressure.”