Not so fast! Vitamin E proves no cure-all

Dr. Judith Reichman 'Today' show contributor • Profile • E-mail

Q: I’ve been taking vitamin E for years, hoping to ward off heart disease and even cancer. Now I’ve heard it doesn’t work. Is this true?

A: Sadly, the latest research gives “E” an “F,” at least for healthy women under the age of 45.

This news comes from The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the Women’s Health Study, which followed nearly 40,000 healthy women in the U.S. who were over the age of 45 for at least 10 years. The women were divided into two groups: One received a fairly high dosage of vitamin E (600 International units) every other day and the other a placebo.

The researchers examined the women’s incidence of nonfatal heart attacks or strokes, as well as death from cardiovascular disease. They also collected information on coronary procedures such as bypass or angioplasty and on transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes), which are often precursors to a more major stroke.  The cancers they looked for were breast, lung and colon.

What they found was that vitamin E (in this dosage, at least ) “provided no benefit for major cardiovascular events or cancer,” nor did it affect total mortality or decrease cardiovascular-related deaths in healthy women.

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Reading between the lines, however, I feel I should point out that although overall there was no statistically significant cardiovascular benefit to vitamin E, there was a 24 percent reduction in cardiovascular deaths and a 26 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events among a sub-group of women who were 65 or older (though, again, this age group had no decrease in total mortality after taking vitamin E). However, to get the final “scoop” these women need to be followed for more than 10 years.

There have been quite a few large observational studies in which women were asked to remember what they ate or what vitamins they took (but were not randomly given the vitamin E supplement or a “look alike” placebo). Some of these have shown that those women who had very low vitamin E intakes were more likely to have coronary vascular disease than women with high intakes.

So far, however, the Women’s Health Study has been the largest and longest-lasting randomized trial of vitamin E supplementation. There have also been other, smaller ones that provide us with some noteworthy results. A recent trial called “HOPE-TOO” found that a daily dose of 400 IUs of vitamin E actually might increase the risk of heart failure.

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Based on the Women’s Health Study, the authors (from Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Miami School of Medicine) concluded that we can’t rely on vitamin E to prevent coronary vascular disease or cancer and that “therapeutic lifestyle changes including healthy diet and control of major risk factors remain important clinical and public health strategies.”

Dr. Reichman’s Bottom Line: If you’ve been taking vitamin E and you’re healthy, don’t become concerned. However, don’t count on it to prevent heart disease and cancer, and don’t supplement doses above and beyond what you get in your general multi-vitamin.

Dr. Judith Reichman, the “Today” show's medical contributor on women's health, has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for more than 20 years. You will find many answers to your questions in her latest book, "Slow Your Clock Down: The Complete Guide to a Healthy, Younger You," which is now available in paperback. It is published by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins.

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