Vitamin E study 'no cause for alarm'

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Vitamin study 'no cause for alarm'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11360436%5E23289,0\

0.html

Jano Gibson

12nov04

 

HEALTH experts have cautioned vitamin E users not to be alarmed by a new

international study linking high doses of the popular vitamin supplement

to increased fatality rates.

 

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found high

doses of vitamin E, which many Australians use to prevent heart disease,

cancer and other degenerative problems, could increase mortality rates.

 

" It's about a 5 per cent increased risk at 45 years in the trials pooled

together, " said Edgar Miller of John Hopkins University in Baltimore,

Maryland.

 

A high dose is defined as about 400mg a day or more.

 

But Australian experts criticised the US researchers' data collection

methods, which involved pulling together several disparate studies.

 

" I would describe it as an interesting analysis which should not be a

cause for alarm among those taking vitamin E, " said associate professor

Len Kritharides, director of cardiology at Concord Hospital in Sydney.

 

Australasian College of Natural Medicine president Ian Brighthope said

the broad base of the data collected did not provide accurate results.

 

Professor Brighthope said vitamin E had positive health effects. Up to

1000mg a day could be taken safely, provided it was combined with a

balanced diet and recommended levels of vitamin C.

 

" There is extremely good evidence, and very hard evidence, that

supplement use of vitamin E, in addition to a healthy lifestyle, can

improve wellness and reduce a large number of diseases, " he said.

 

Data collected from more than 130,000 people was used in the study, but

its authors cautioned that the number of high-dosage vitamin E users was

small and that they were patients with chronic diseases.

 

Leading vitamin supplier Blackmores slammed the study as " sensationalist " .

 

" It really comes back to how misleading this report is in extrapolating

the results from people who had serious disease and were at grave risk

with existing disease, " said Blackmores' training manager and

naturopath, Pam Stone.

 

But Associate Professor Kritharides, who is also a member of the

National Heart Foundation's nutrition and metabolism committee, said

vitamin E had no definitive harmful or beneficial health effects.