Vitamin Supplements To Help Female Problems Articles & Resources

* In persons who have diabetes, high vitamin E intake can protect against diabetic complications, such as damage to small blood vessels.

* As an antioxidant, vitamin E can help prevent visual disorders, such as macular degeneration and cataracts.

* Vitamin E appears to improve the immune response in the healthy elderly and may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

* Vitamin E may also alleviate some of the stiffness experienced by arthritis sufferers.

The Heart of the Matter

Vitamin E leaped to the headlines a few years ago with two major investigations reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. One study, out of the Channing Laboratory in Boston, looked at information taken from over 80,000 female nurses, ages 34 to 69. The other, at the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, looked at almost 40,000 male health professionals, ages 40 to 75.

All participants were free of heart disease at the onset. When the volunteers' diets and vitamin supplement intakes were compared with the development of disease, those persons with an intake of at least 100 IUs of vitamin E a day had a 40 percent lower risk for heart disease.

Vitamin E helps more than just your heart--it protects your body against oxygen. This may seem strange since oxygen is essential for life, but it turns out that oxygen has something of a split personality. On the good side, oxygen helps build cells and power the heart. But on the bad side, oxygen has a tendency to form compounds that can contribute to the development of heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. This is where vitamin E and other antioxidants come into play: They all help keep oxidized fat cells in our body from wreaking havoc on the lining of our arteries.

Supplemental Advice

Key food sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, nuts, and nut and grain oils. Lesser amounts of the vitamin are found in peanuts and vegetables--especially asparagus, kale, spinach, and yams. Vitamin E is also abundant in fortified cereals and whole-grain products.

Can you get all the vitamin E you need from food? In the study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, the reduction in heart disease risk wasn't evident unless individuals took at least 100 IUs of vitamin E every day. It can be difficult to get that much from food alone, even if your diet is a paragon of nutrition planning (see chart, left).

RIGHT TO THE SOURCE

Including some of the following foods in your daily diet can help you attain a goal of 100 IUs of vitamin E each day(*):

1 oz. wheat germ oil 51 IUs
1 cup extra-fortified oatmeal 40 IUs
1 oz. shelled sunflower seeds 20 IUs
1 oz. sunflower oil 21 IUs
1 oz. soybean oil 20 IUs
1 oz. safflower oil 17 IUs
1 oz. corn oil 12 IUs
1 oz. whole almonds 10 IUs
1 medium sweet potato 9 IUs
1 oz. peanut oil 8 IUs
1 cup canned peaches 6 IUs
3 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ 4 IUs
1 cup cooked pasta 4 IUs
1 cup steamed asparagus 3 IUs
1 cup cooked Brussels sprouts 2 IUs

(*) Amounts approximate. Be sure to check the labels as vitamin E content can vary according to brand.

E AS IN EGG

Eggs aren't naturally a good source of vitamin E, but a team of researchers came up with the idea of enriching chicken feed with vitamin E in the hopes of changing that. These vitamin E-spiked eggs tend to cost a little more than the unfortified ones, but they do offer a good dietary source for vitamin E.

Each enhanced egg provides about 50 percent of the USDA's Recommended Dietary Allowance.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of 12 to 15 IUs were set up to help eliminate diseases of deficiency. Yet, vitamin E can provide a measure of protection against common ailments and age-related illnesses--a bonus beyond protecting against mere deficiency.

If you're not getting the vitamin E you desire from your diet, you're better to get it from a pill than not at all. A vitamin E supplement won't make a poor diet better, but it can be an important ally to have in the battle against heart disease and cancer.

A daily intake of 100 IUs is suggested for disease-preventive benefit.

The Safety Question

Although vitamin E's apparent powers are noteworthy, it is not a panacea. Also, vitamin E deficiency is uncommon, occurring predominantly because of malnutrition or rare genetic conditions.

Toxicity from vitamin E is also rare. Subjects in studies who took more than 1,500 IUs a day for extended periods of time reported some gastric upset and nausea, and were at risk for deficiency of vitamins A and K. Also, overdosing on vitamin E can lead to subtle effects on the way blood clots.

One 1994 Finnish study of older males who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day for nearly 40 years indicated that vitamin E may slightly increase lung cancer risk, but the results were not conclusive. Also, previous studies revealed that smokers show sharply decreased amounts of vitamin E in their system. Unfortunately, details from the Finnish study have been reported out of context over the years creating confusion about vitamin E's value.

Vitamin E's role as a major component in the body's cells and as a member of the immune system's SWAT team helps explain why low levels are associated with increased disease risk. It also supports the evidence that higher intakes decrease the risk for many health problems.

So, should we take vitamin E supplements? Taking 100 to 400 IUs of vitamin E per day in the form of a supplement might not be such a bad idea. Even amounts between 400 to 800 IUs per day are still considered safe, although not recommended. All supplements should be used with caution, as directed, and according to your physician's advice.

Individuals with blood coagulation disorders or those taking anticoagulation medications should be especially careful with vitamin E supplements. Consult your health professional if you have any health problems or questions.

RELATED ARTICLE: COUNTS AND AMOUNTS

Vitamin E content may appear on nutrition labels in either of two ways: The International Unit, or IU, is a measurement used with the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Newer and easier-to-understand terminology now expresses amounts for vitamin E in milligrams. The RDA for adult males is 10 milligrams, or 15 IUs. For adult females, the recommended amount is 8 milligrams, or 12 IUs.

RELATED ARTICLE: ROMANCING THE VITAMIN

Vitamin E's roots are in romance. The original research had to do with fertility in animals. In fact, vitamin E's chemical name, tocopherol (toe-CAW-fur-awl), comes from the Greek words tokos and pherin, meaning "to bear offspring." This early research triggered fad fame far vitamin E as a "love potion" for people, in spite of the lack of human studies in the matter.

But in an example of how science can come full circle, recent research has proven that vitamin E has more to do with romance--or at least reproduction--than previously believed. Studies now show that vitamin E can keep sperm cells from being damaged. Perhaps next Valentine's Day may find us presenting our loved ones with an elegantly wrapped package of wheat germ oil and sunflower seeds.

Ed Blonz is a syndicated columnist and the author of Power Nutrition, published by Signet (1998). Dr. Blonz initially studied nutrition at the University of California, Davis, under Dr. Harold Olcott, one of the discoverers of vitamin E.