Vitamin E helps - but don't overdose.A host of pollutants and biological processes unleash free radicals. Indeed, the body generates these reactive agents to destroy unwanted cells and materials. With age, natural systems for protecting healthy cells from bombardment by these deleterious agents become impaired. The resulting growth in exposure to free radicals has been linked to a host of chronic degenerative diseases, including heart disease. One way to fight the oxidative damage caused by free radicals-from smoking, aging, or other factors-is to arm the body with an ample supply of antioxidants Antioxidants Substances that reduce the damage of the highly reactive free radicals that are the byproducts of the cells. Mentioned in: Aging, Nutritional Supplements antioxidants, n. , such as vitamin E vitamin E or tocopherol Fat-soluble organic compound found principally in certain plant oils and leaves of green vegetables. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant in body tissues and may prolong life by slowing oxidative destruction of membranes. . How much might one need? To find out, nutritional biochemist Katrina M. Brown and her colleagues at the Rowett Research Institute The Rowett Research Institute is a research centre for studies into food and nutrition located in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture agreed that an "Institute for in Aberdeen, Scotland, randomly assigned 40 male smokers and an equal number of nonsmokers to take capsules containing 70, 140, 560, or 1,050 milligrams of vitamin E daily. After 20 weeks, the researchers sampled red blood cells Red blood cells Cells that carry hemoglobin (the molecule that transports oxygen) and help remove wastes from tissues throughout the body. Mentioned in: Bone Marrow Transplantation red blood cells from each man and incubated them for 1 hour with hydrogen peroxide hydrogen peroxide, chemical compound, H2O2, a colorless, syrupy liquid that is a strong oxidizing agent and, in water solution, a weak acid. It is miscible with cold water and is soluble in alcohol and ether. , one of the body's natural free radicals. They then measured the oxidation that had occurred. Cells from men taking the three lower doses sustained far less damage from free radicals than did cells from men not taking supplements, they report in the February American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Clinical nutrition The use of diet and nutritional supplements as a way to enhance health prevent disease. Mentioned in: Naturopathic Medicine . Moreover, all three lower doses provided fairly comparable protection to nonsmokers and smokers alike. "I think the big message," Brown told Science News, "is that you don't need to take high-dose supplements, as many people now do." Indeed, too much E appeared to be detrimental. Among nonsmokers, she notes, the highest-dose supplementation "did not offer protection. In fact, there was a definite hint things were going the other way"-that the vitamin was actually fostering the production of free radicals. Blood cells from heavily supplemented smokers didn't show the same effect, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , she says, because any excess vitamin was being used up in detoxifying radicals generated by smoking. |
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