Higher doses of vitamin E protected against heart disease in
those with high cholesterol; Type 2 diabetics who took vitamin E
had fewer heart attacks and strokes; and vitamin E reduced DNA
damage in adults, in four new studies. In a high cholesterol
study, doctors noted that earlier vitamin E studies were poorly
designed, using only one dose and measuring a single result,
such as heart attack. In the first of two trials, researchers
recruited seven women and one man, average age 34, with high
cholesterol from diet and lifestyle—not from family history—who
were at high risk for heart attack. Participants took 3,200 IU
of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E per day for 20 weeks. Scientists
measured F2 isoprostanes—a sign of damaged fat cells and a risk
factor for heart disease—which decreased -continuously for 16
weeks. In the second trial, 35 participants took 100, 200, 400,
800, 1,600 or 3,200 IU of vitamin E per day for 16 weeks. As the
dose of vitamin E increased, levels of F2 isoprostanes
decreased, by 35% at 1,600