The Hazards of Vitamin E

NY Times ^ | November 14, 2004 | MASTHEAD EDITORIAL

[neverdem]

Millions of Americans take big doses of vitamin E with the unproved assumption that the dietary supplement will improve their health. Now it turns out that large doses may actually be harmful.

That perplexing news was delivered by researchers from Johns Hopkins medical institutions last week, in a scientific talk and medical journal article that combined and reanalyzed the results of 19 studies involving some 136,000 people in North America, Europe and China. The researchers concluded that daily doses of 400 international units and above, the amount typically contained in vitamin E capsules, slightly increased the risk of dying from all causes. Those who took the high doses experienced 39 additional deaths per 10,000 people compared with those who took no supplements.

There are reasons to be cautious in generalizing these findings. Some statisticians find the pooling of results from disparate studies unpersuasive. Most of the patients were elderly people suffering from chronic illnesses, so the relevance to younger and healthier people is uncertain. The dose of vitamin E in a typical multivitamin pill, about 30 units, is far below the apparent danger zone.

Yet the findings should sound a cautionary note for millions of people who swallow big-dose vitamin E capsules as an antidote to ward off heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's and even the common cold. There is scant evidence to support the presumed benefits, and now there is a signal of potential harm.

[neverdem]

LurkedLongEnough recently wrote a comment to me on another thread, "I will never understand why physicians and the health care industry in general are so liberal. It is a cancer in itself - the NEJM and JAMA and everything else is full of political commentary.

Lately, even Scientific American even published letters to the editor protesting their insistence on making science political."

The socialists of the MSM pushing the nanny state politicize everything.

Large Doses of Vitamin E May Be Harmful, Study Says

[neverdem]

ping

[tear_down_this_wall]

Bump for later reading.

(And later checking of FR replies...)

[underbyte]

Vitamin E does not work without taking the cofactor Selenium - flawed study

[underbyte]

Vitamin E does not work without taking the cofactor Selenium - flawed study

[GOPXtreme20]

I heard that scientists recently claim that taking 2 tablets of Vitamin E (400 mg) will improve hearing or even prevent hearing loss.

[blackie]

This is a flawed study. :)

[bluefish]

Another Freeper discussion on this took place a few days ago here:

Large Doses of Vitamine E May be Harmful, Study Says

I'm getting confused.

[tob2]

The medical profession has a habit of flip flopping. Today something is bad, tomorrow is good, then next day bad again. When my doctor tells me to stop taking any of my supplements, I ask him which drug companies are against vitamins.

[Diago]

bump for later

[GeekDejure]

Vitamin E does not work without taking the cofactor Selenium - flawed study
=====
Oops... careful... you just overdosed on Selenium !!! ;-))

[carola]

I don't know what this means, but there is a huge effort among doctors to get people to take cholesterol-lowering medication, which means an office visit two or three times a year for everyone taking the medication. It's kind of like the deal gynecologists had with estrogen supplements.

[Snapple]

I told Yassar that, but he didn't listen.

[CAPTAIN PHOTON]

HOW MUCH OF THIS IS SCIENCE AND HOW MUCH IS IT THE POLITICS OF DRUG COMPANIES TRYING TO GET RID OF NATURAL REMEDIES?

and what about selenium? I've been taking 400 units of vitamin e a day for 10 yrs, and it seems to have done no harm, at least.

[Myrddin]

The spotty reporting of this story on the radio raised a red flag for me. Apparently, vitamin E interferes with statin medication. The later versions of the story omitted that detail. The parties at risk are individuals on long term statin treatments...not the whole human race. Anything for a glitzy news story...even if it is just plain wrong.

[InterceptPoint]

Lately, even Scientific American even published letters to the editor protesting their insistence on making science political."

That is a very interesting comment.

I was an enthusiastic reader of Scientific American for many many years. I just loved Mathematical Recreation (or something like that.) And then they published an article on HIV and AIDS that was so politicized and unscientific that I just could not in good faith continue to read the magazine. Any publication, but particularly a supposedly scientific one, that sacrifices the truth for a political agenda is more than useless. It is dangerous.

That was the last article I ever read in "Scientific" "American". But I still take Vitamin E.

[John Robertson]

I've been taking 400-1200 mg of vitame E a day for three weeks, and people tell me I look 26 (thought I'm 56); I've dropped 48 pounds; I can run a mile in 4.7 minutes; I can bench press 900 pounds; I can work intensely at my job for ten hours straight without even a bathroom break; my penis has tripled in size.

But I think I'll stop taking it, because scientists say it MIGHT be harmful.

[LuigiBasco]

"my penis has tripled in size."

Keep that up and you'll be tripping over yourself pole vaulting to work!. LOL

Luigi

[iconoclast]

Those who took the high doses experienced 39 additional deaths per 10,000 people compared with those who took no supplements.

DUUHHH!

common sense tells me that by far most of these viamin-E'ers are seasoned citizens.