Does Vitamin E Prevent Heart Disease?
Jan. 25, 2000 (New York) — Despite favorable animal studies and some inconclusive evidence in people, a study in the Jan. 20 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that taking vitamin E supplements every day for over four years does not reduce the risk of death or heart attack in people with heart disease or diabetes. In several studies, fruits, vegetables, and other foods containing antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin E have been associated with a reduction in the risk of heart disease and levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. Antioxidants prevent the formation of free radicals that cause disease. However, the new study found no significant differences in deaths from heart disease or stroke, or in the incidence of second heart attacks or death from any cause, in men and women aged 55 or older who were randomly assigned to take either vitamin E or a placebo every day for four and a half years. Patients also received a drug (an ACE inhibitor) known as Altace (ramipril) or pl
