Research shows Vitamin E can help reduce risk of heart disease

Jet, August 7, 1995

New research adds to the evidence that taking vitamin E can reduce the risk of heart disease.

In a study of 156 men with existing heart disease, researchers found that taking daily doses of vitamin E for two years appeared to slow the development of fatty deposits, or plaque, in heart arteries. Such deposits can lead to chest pain and heart attacks.

Howard N. Hodis, director of the Atherosclerosis Research Unit at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, said more research is needed to prove whether vitamin E can slow or even block heart disease.

"It's hard to say that it's preventative - that's what we hope is going to be the bottom line," said Hodis, whose study appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Neil J. Stone, chairman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee, said the study "heightens our awareness that vitamin E may be an important supplement."

Stone added the study is not conclusive because it was not a random clinical trial and it relied on the participants' reporting of their vitamin E intake.