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Benefit of Vitamin E
by Patrick Austin |
Is Vitamin E Really a Dangerous Vitamin?
I’m guessing you’ve heard a lot about Vitamin E in
the news lately? Not everything you hear is 100% true, and I wanted
to take some time to explain the risks and benefit of vitamin
E.
Recently, researchers from Johns Hopkins University published
a report alleging that taking a high dose of vitamin E for an
extended period of time may increase the risk of death. While
this may seem straightforward at first, a closer look shows that
the conclusions of the study are shaky, at best.
The researchers’ assumptions about vitamin E are severely
flawed. They drew conclusions about vitamin E use and death by
combining results from nineteen different studies of people already
had a major risk of death with existing diseases, including cancer,
heart disease, Parkinson’s and kidney failure.
Eighteen of those studies showed no significant difference in
death between people who consumed high doses of Vitamin E and
those who didn’t.
Only one report found a negative connection and the researchers
chose to put an emphasis on that instead of the eighteen reports
that showed no problems.
Furthermore, a number of studies in the analysis showed positive
results. The researchers even acknowledge this in their final
analysis:
“High-dosage trials were often small and were performed
in patients with chronic diseases. The generalization of the findings
to healthy adults is uncertain. Precise estimation of the threshold
at which risk increases is difficult.”
There is significant proof showing the protective benefit of
vitamin E among healthy individuals. Vitamin E may safely be considered
an effective tool in the prevention of disease, especially when
taken as a preventative measure over long periods of time.
A recent study from Tufts University found another benefit of vitamin E - it was
beneficial for reducing upper respiratory infections in elderly
people.
Even the F.D.A. has acknowledged the potential benefit
of vitamin E for cancer related risks:
“Some scientific evidence suggests that consumption of antioxidant
vitamins (including vitamin E) may reduce the risk of certain
forms of cancer. However, FDA has determined that this evidence
is limited and not conclusive.”
While the safety of vitamin E is rock solid, the health risks
for too much vitamin E is extremely low. The Institute of Medicine
set the intake level for vitamin E at 1,000mg (1,500 IU) per day.
This limit is established to represent the maximum intake for
a vitamin and/or nutrient that is likely to present no risk of
adverse health effects in most healthy individuals in the population.
The general recommendation of 400 IU per day to get the benefit of vitamin E for
good health falls safely within these limits.
For more information about the benefit of vitamin E, check out
these web sites:
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