In November 2004, the associated Press (AP) reported a study, performed at Johns Hopkins University, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and detailed at an American Heart Association conference: “The study was an analysis of 19 previous studies involving a total of about 136,000 people who took vitamin E alone or in combination with other vitamins.”

The AP summarized the results of the study as follows: “Those taking 400 International Units per day or more—the amount in most vitamin E supplements—had 10 times the risk of dying as those taking 200 unit or less.”  Many people today take up to 1200 I.U.
a day of vitamin E.

                                                                                         

Here are two facts to consider that advise caution when taking isolated or synthetic nutrients, especially isolated or synthetic nutrients in much higher amounts than found in foods or body tissues:

1. The vitamin E supplements consumed today—including the vitamin E in the study above—are isolated or synthetic tocopherols. However, in 1955 Dr. Royal Lee, a pioneer in whole food nutrition and supplements, wrote:

“The vitamin E complex is now known to embrace the tocopherol group, the xanthine group, the phospholipid group, the lipositol, and the sex hormone precursors. The tocopherols appear to act purely as anti-oxidants, and to be the protective agent for more complex parts.” Dr. Lee then issues the caution  “...a very common mistake is assuming that one fraction of a natural complex is the vitamin itself.”

Thus, the study above tells us that the ingestion of an isolated or synthetic fraction of the vitamin E complex (i.e., tocopherols) in amounts FAR exceeding those found in foods or the human body, are associated with increased mortality.

2. In a 1953 published text called “The Vitamins in Medicine”, Bicknell and Prescott condemn high dosages of tocopherols because of their tendency to decalcify bones and teeth.

Copyright (c) 2017 Lynne August MD All Rights Reserved.