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Like many people, you may have questions about some of
the recent news stories about studies examining vitamin
E. Here is some useful information to help you better
understand the facts and make your own choices about vitamin
E.
Q. Recent media headlines reporting a vitamin E research
study (the HOPE-TOO study) seem to question the safety
and benefits of vitamin E. Is this vitamin safe? Are there
benefits from taking vitamin E supplements?
A. Yes. Vitamin E is not only safe, but like all
vitamins it is essential for life. Vitamin E has many
potential long-term benefits for healthy people, including
protecting against oxidative damage in body cells due
to the action of free radicals, and reducing harmful inflammation.
Its benefits may go well beyond those that are currently
recognized, and much additional research is underway to
confirm them.
There is study evidence that vitamin E helps protect
against:
- Infectious diseases, especially upper respiratory
infections
- Some cancers, including prostate and lung
- Eye diseases, such as macular degeneration and cataracts
- Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s
- Cardiovascular disease in some populations
Q. Should people change their supplement routine based
on HOPE-TOO?
A. The HOPE-TOO study must be interpreted carefully
and cautiously. A close look at the study itself and the
accompanying editorial reveals no evidence that vitamin
E is unsafe for healthy people. The study was narrowly
focused on older people (average age 70+) who already
had serious heart, stroke or diabetes health problems.
These subjects were already taking a variety of medications
for their conditions.
Q. Are the findings from HOPE-TOO conclusive?
A. The study results are not the final word on
vitamin E. The study’s authors concede their conclusion
are not confirmed by other existing studies and call for
additional research to evaluate them. They acknowledge
the result they observed could be due to chance.
In addition, there are many ongoing studies of the benefits
of vitamin E supplements for a number of diseases and
conditions. The expert researchers conducting these ongoing
studies see no reason to abandon or alter their trials.
This is a substantial vote of confidence in the safety
and likely benefit of vitamin E.
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