To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Foods for the Future: Studies Indicate Vitamin E May Slow Aging Process URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1F7D6.htm Doctor's Guide March 5, 1997
WASHINGTON, March 5, 1997 -- Vitamin E – The "fountain of youth? Many researchers seem to think so. Separate medical and research groups from the National Institute of Aging, Tufts University and the University of Arizona College of Medicine have found that Vitamin E may help slow the aging process. An extensive study of 11,178 seniors aged 67 to 109 by the National Institute of Aging found that seniors who supplement with Vitamin E are less likely to die prematurely. The study was titled "Vitamin E and Vitamin C Supplement Use and Risk of All-Cause and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Older Persons: the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly." The study, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that Vitamin E has the ability to stabilize free radicals. Free radicals -- unstable oxygen molecules that can break down and degenerate cells, much as oxygen causes rust on iron -- can line the interior of arteries, restricting blood flow. The study by the National Institute of Aging, one of the National Institutes of Health, found that subjects who took Vitamin E supplementation over a nine-year period (1984-1993) had a 27% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 41% reduction in heart disease risk, and a 22% reduction in death from cancer. Similarly, Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, found that Vitamin E may help prevent exercise-induced muscular damage in men aged 55 to 7O as well as younger men. In the publication Advanced Nutrition, Dr. Blumberg said he studied two groups of men during an exercise test. Half the men had taken Vitamin E supplements for 48 days before the exercise; the other half had taken a placebo. Dr. Blumberg found that the men taking Vitamin E supplements had far less muscular damage than those with the placebo. He suggested that Vitamin E protected the muscle cell membranes from damage caused by free radicals created by exercise, and that Vitamin E may boost the immune function. "The potential benefit is great, data are consistent and compelling, and the risk of side effects is essentially nil. It makes a clear case for recommending supplements," Dr. Blumberg said . He noted, as well, that 400 international units (IU) of Vitamin E is "associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease," and can also "enhance immunity and protect against infection." In a third study of middle-aged and older animals, the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that Vitamin E could delay or prevent age-related degradation of a crucial strand of proteins in the brain and white blood cells. The proteins, Band 3 proteins, are found in all mammalian cells, which suggests that the findings on the animals will also benefit people. The study, "Vitamin E Prevents Oxidative Modification of Brain and Lymphocyte Band Three Proteins During Aging," was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It found that "antioxidants may play an important role in preventing free radical damage associated with aging by interfering directly in the generation of radicals or by scavenging them," Dr. Marguerite M.B. Kay reported in the study. Other studies have shown that Vitamin E also helps prevent heart disease, many forms of cancer, kidney disease, neurologic disease, Type II diabetes and osteoporosis, and may benefit eyesight, menopausal women, hair loss, burns, cuts, and stamina, among other health advantages. The richest food sources of Vitamin E are vegetable oils, margarine, wheat germ, most nuts, and most vegetables, especially green, leafy vegetables. Because many of those sources -- with the exception of most vegetables -- are high in fat, experts recommend a daily supplement of 100 to 400 IU (international units). Numerous experts agree that the Recommended Daily Allowance of 15 IU for men and 12 IU for women is not enough for long-term health benefits, and recommend taking a daily supplement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. 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