Vitamin E used in many orthomolecular health studies

Orthomolecular medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine whose practitioners claim to prevent and treat a wide range of diseases with nutrients. According to advocates of the concept, nutrients are prescribed as dietary supplements or are derived from diets designed to eliminate what proponents consider deleterious substances,[1] such as allergens, refined foods, sugar and transfats.[2][3]

The term "orthomolecular" was coined in a 1967 letter[4] by Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling and later elaborated on in a 1968 paper[5] on micronutrients and psychiatry to express the idea of "the right molecules in the right amounts" (ortho is Greek for "right"[6]). . .

Use of vitamin E in orthomolecular medicine

Vitamin E comprises eight related chemicals, which are classed as either tocopherols or tocotrienols. These chemicals also exist as several stereoisomers.[129] In supplements these are usually present in stabilized ester forms, which are converted into the active form in the intestines.[130] Research has focussed on alpha-tocopherol, since this is the form preferentially taken up by the body and the most abundant form in tissues.[131] Alpha-tocopherol is also regarded in orthomolecular medicine as the form with greatest nutritional significance.[132] In supplements this is either a mixture of stereoisomers (all-rac-alpha-tocopherol), or the biological stereoisomer RRR-alpha-tocopherol.[129]

Initial hopes for the usefulness of vitamin E in orthomolecular medicine were based on epidemiological studies. . . [NOTE: footnotes can be found in information via link below]

(Read information here)

Vitamin E, selenium may alter genes in prostate cancer: Study

By Stephen Daniells, 26-Feb-2009

Selenium and vitamin E may offer protection against prostate cancer by changing the expression of certain genes in prostates linked to tumours, says a new study from Texas.

Writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, scientists from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston report that exposure of biopsy samples from people with cancer to vitamin E, selenium or both, expressed different genes, with the combined exposure producing results similar to that observed in people with no prostate cancer.

(Read article here)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Council for Responsible Nutrition published a FACT SHEET -- Vitamin E meta-analysis in Annals of Internal Medicine: What’s wrong with this picture? --  in late 2004 to help consumers better understand the "negative" press about Vitamin E. This negative press continues to today -- and the information in the FACT SHEET is still tremendously valid for all to read! The FACT SHEET even discusses the "upcoming SELECT" test (which has just been published -- with negative press, of course) and prefaces that upcoming test as part of the meta-analysis process.

Please take the time to read this important FACT SHEET and, if you have any questions, feel free to call us at 800.833.4368, and we will be happy to discuss the positive truths about Vitamin E going back to the 1930s.

Below are excerpts from the topics discussed in the FACT SHEET:

FACT SHEET

Vitamin E meta-analysis in Annals of Internal Medicine: What’s wrong with this picture?

What is a meta-analysis?
A meta-analysis is not a clinical trial. It is a statistical technique for combining the results of many existing studies in order to clarify possible effects.

What is all-cause mortality?
A certain number of people in long term studies are going to die, and all-cause mortality is the number of people who died from any cause — whether or not the cause has anything to do with the purpose of the study.

What did this study find, overall?
Overall, Vitamin E supplementation did not  affect all-cause mortality.

What did the study find, relating to high and low doses of Vitamin E?
However, they go on to generalize, saying that people should avoid high-dose Vitamin E and indeed high doses of any Vitamin — a conclusion much more sweeping than is justified by their analysis.

Were there other findings?
The researchers also did a dose-response analysis of the clinical trials, which found a statistically significant (but very small) increase in mortality only when the Vitamin E dose was greater than 900 IU.  This is contrary to the finding in their main meta-analysis that doses over 400 IU might confer increased risk.

What were the 19 studies used in this meta-analysis?
Some of the studies involved over 20,000 people, and some involved only a few hundred people.  Doses used in the studies ranged from 16.5 IU to 2000 IU and were given for periods from one to 8 years . . . some of the studies found a benefit of Vitamin E for these purposes.

Do any of the studies show a benefit from Vitamin E?
Yes. Many of the 19 clinical studies used in this meta-analysis actually showed a health benefit from Vitamin E.

Do epidemiologic studies show a benefit from Vitamin E?
Yes. Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown a benefit from Vitamin E. 

Are more studies being done using high-dose Vitamin E?
Yes. A number of new clinical trials are now under way, and researchers are attempting to reassure the people enrolled in these trials that Vitamin E is safe and that the research should continue.

Was it reasonable to select 400 IU as the cutoff between low-dose and high-dose Vitamin E?
No. Four hundred IU was an arbitrary number.

How much Vitamin E is safe?
The Institute of Medicine, a scientific advisory body, has concluded that Vitamin E is safe for chronicuse in the general population at levels up to 1000 mg (1000 IU synthetic Vitamin E, 1500 IU natural Vitamin E).

What should people think about this meta-analysis?
Consumers who are already using Vitamin E should continue to use it with confidence, and people who are not currently using at least a multiVitamin containing Vitamin E should consider doing so, since the overwhelming majority of the population fails to get the recommended amount of Vitamin E from diet alone.

(Read report here)

Vitamin E Could Reduce Muscle Inflammation, Study Finds

by Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

December 10th, 2008 - It's no wonder muscle aches and pains can be not only uncomfortable but also result in significant impairment. After all, about half of your body mass is made up of skeletal muscles and chronic inflammation of those muscles can be agonizing. But University of Illinois research has demonstrated that the antioxidant properties of Vitamin E may be able to put a damper on the cause of ongoing inflammation.

Here's how: Cytokines are regulatory proteins that are released by cells of the immune system to act as intercellular mediators when an immune response is needed. This is a desirable and natural part of the immune system, as long as the cytokine response isn't excessive or "stuck", resulting in chronic inflammation. The new research, just published in the December issue of the journal Experimental Physiology, suggests Vitamin E could keep many of these cytokines in check, thereby easing inflammation throughout the body.

The study marks the first time researchers have looked at the effects of Vitamin E administration on local inflammatory responses in skeletal and cardiac muscle in animals. The research team included Rodney Johnson, a University of Illinois professor of animal sciences whose previous work has suggested a possible link between short-term Vitamin E supplementation and a reduction in brain inflammation.

The scientists examined the impact Vitamin E had on three specific pro-inflammatory cytokines -- interleukin (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-1beta -- and compared the results to those an inactive placebo produced. One group of mice in the study were administered Vitamin E for three days and then injected with a low dose of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce a minor systemic bacterial infection that caused inflammation. A control group received a placebo instead of the vitamin. The researchers found that the mice who had received Vitamin E had a significant decrease in two of the inflammation-causing cytokines, IL-6 and IL-1beta.

The researchers decided to also look at the amount of oxidized proteins in muscles. The reason? Oxidation in muscles has been associated with reduced muscle strength. Once again, the Vitamin E treated animals came out ahead. They had far better muscle function than the mice in the control group.

"There was a significant reduction in the amount of LPS-induced oxidized proteins with Vitamin E compared to placebo. So that's a good thing. Potentially, if you reduce the oxidized proteins, that may correlate to increased muscle strength," University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Kimberly Huey, who headed the study, said in a statement to the media.

Although more research is needed to see how these findings may apply to people, Huey also said that Vitamin E "may be beneficial in individuals with chronic inflammation, such as the elderly or patients with type II diabetes or chronic heart failure. Vitamin E is a supplement that is already approved, and these results may suggest an additional benefit of taking Vitamin E beyond what's already been shown."