Vitamin E and Respiratory Tract Infections
Nutrition plays an important role in helping prevent or reduce the incidence and severity of seasonal illness. Research shows that a good multivitamin and extra vitamin E can reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections, especially in the elderly.
Respiratory illnesses, including the common cold, can be debilitating and lead to complications and death in the elderly. A study published in the August 18, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found vitamin E to be protective against upper respiratory infections.
Four hundred fifty-one individuals aged 65 and older at 33 long-term care facilities completed a course of 200 IU of vitamin E per day or a placebo from April 1998 to August 2001. In addition, all of the subjects received a multivitamin that provided 50 percent of the recommended daily allowance for essential vitamins and minerals. The incidence of lower respiratory infections, such as acute bronchitis and pneumonia, and upper respiratory tract infections, including cold, influenza, sore throat, middle ear infection and sinusitis, was documented over the course of the trial.
The subjects who received vitamin E acquired fewer respiratory tract infections than those who did not receive the vitamin. Participants who received the vitamin experienced a 20 percent decreased risk of acquiring the common cold, which accounted for 84 percent of the upper respiratory infections reported. In addition, participants taking vitamin E had fewer colds per person. Although vitamin E showed no significant effect on lower respiratory tract infections, the protective effect of vitamin E supplementation on upper respiratory tract infections observed in this group merits further investigation and suggests important implications for the well-being of the elderly.
JAMA. 2004;292:828-836.
Higher vitamin E intake associated with lower lung cancer risk
New research indicates that higher intakes of vitamin E in the forms of alpha, beta and gamma-tocopherol may be associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer. In this study population, Vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol reduced the risk of lung cancer by as much as 61 percent.
A study published in the September 1, 2008, issue of the International Journal of Cancer evaluated the effect of alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocopherols on lung cancer risk. Until recently, studies of vitamin E and cancer have focused on the alpha-tocopherol form of the vitamin. However, the lesser known fractions (in particular gamma-tocopherol) have increasingly been the subject of scientific research.
In an ongoing study of 1,088 incident lung cancer cases and 1,414 healthy controls, researchers studied the associations between four tocopherols (alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol) in the diet and lung cancer risk. Higher intakes of alpha, beta and gamma-tocopherols were found to be associated with a reduced risk of lung cancer. When groups with the highest and lowest alpha-tocopherol levels were compared, those with intakes in the highest 25 percent showed a 61 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. For both beta-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol, subjects whose intake was highest experienced a 44 percent lower risk compared to the lowest intake groups. No significant association was observed between delta-tocopherol and lung cancer risk.
Since this is the first report of the independent associations of the four forms of dietary tocopherols (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol) on lung cancer risk, the researchers suggest further research concerning the various forms of vitamin E and cancer risk.
Int J Cancer 2008 Sep 1;123(5):1173-80.