April 1, 1997 Contact: Mary Burnette (202) 872-1488
202-872-1488
VITAMIN E -- GAMMA AND ALPHA TOCOPHEROLS SAFE AND BENEFICIAL
Vitamin E, in all forms, is one of the safest of all vitamins. No adverse effects have been demonstrated with alpha-tocopherol at intakes of 1,200 international units (IU) or more. "Any suggestion that a recent study at the University of California at Berkeley demonstrated harm from vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) is a misinterpretation," said John Hathcock, Ph.D., Director of Nutritional and Regulatory Science for the Council for Responsible Nutrition. "It is not supported by this study or any other data."
A recent laboratory study by scientists at UC Berkeley explored the protective effects of two kinds of vitamin E (alpha- and gamma-tocopherol). Researchers found that gamma-tocopherol was somewhat more protective than alpha-tocopherol -- but both were protective. The study indicated that oxidation of certain types of blood lipids by some chemicals are more inhibited by gamma-tocopherol than by alpha-tocopherol, but it did not show that either was harmful.
Vitamin E expert, Dr. William Pryor from the Biodynamics Institute at Louisiana State University, observed that "the benefits of alpha-tocopherol are well established from human trials. Any suggestion that people should restrict alpha-tocopherol in an effort to absorb more gamma-tocopherol is completely speculative."
Vitamin E Study 2-2-2-2
The University of California researchers call for reconsidering the effects of alpha-tocopherol supplementation but Dr. Hathcock says "the only reconsideration of vitamin E supplementation that needs to be done is to identify whether alpha-tocopherol supplements would be even more beneficial if they included some gamma-tocopherol."
Vitamin E supplements have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by decreasing the oxidation of LDL ("bad") cholesterol. In the Cambridge University clinical trial on 2,000 patients with a history of heart disease, high doses of alpha-tocopherol (400 or 800 IU), decreased the risk of new heart attacks by 75 percent. These benefits can be attributed clearly and directly to alpha-tocopherol. A 1996 epidemiological study of 11,000 individuals found that vitamin E supplements reduced mortality by 27 percent, lowered the risk of heart disease by 41 percent, and decreased cancer mortality by 22 percent. These findings are consistent with two epidemiological studies with over 120,000 men and women conducted at Harvard University which found a 40 percent decrease in heart disease risk in those who took at least 100 IU of vitamin E daily.
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