Healthy Living
Vitamin E and Heart Disease
By David Perlmutter, MD, FACN
In a new study published in the journal The Lancet, involving over 2,000 patients with proven coronary artery narrowing, vitamin E supplementation reduced the risk of non-fatal heart attack by 47%. Incredibly, these results were obtained after only 1 year of treatment.
The results of this study are not surprising. In a recent report in The New England Journal of Medicine, it was found that the risk of heart attack in women taking vitamin E was reduced by approximately 40%. In fact, the literature supporting the usefulness of vitamin E in reducing atherosclerotic coronary artery disease has been accumulating for the past 2 decades. Most researchers believe that the beneficial effects of vitamin E with respect to heart disease is a result of its antioxidant properties, preventing cholesterol from undergoing a chemical change which would otherwise allow it to enhance plaque formation.
We recommend daily intake of supplemental vitamin E, 400 IU each day, preferably with the evening meal. Make sure you buy d-alpha tocopherol, not d l -alpha tochopherol, as the latter is a synthetic form less useful to the body.