Vitamin E and diabetes

For years diabetics have been told to take extra vitamin E to gain the benefits of its antioxidant properties.

As a result, worldwide vitamin E supplement sales are enormous.

I first remember reading about the incredible health benefits of vitamin E back in the 60s. Several popular health books were published which promoted this “magical” substance.

Since then there have been a few epidemiological studies suggesting these nutritionists were right. However, such studies can’t fully address biases due to selection of the study population, measurement error of deitary vitamin E intake and other residual confounding errors.

Therefore, what has been needed is a well-designed and well-conducted randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, conducted over a long period of time, that would avoid all these biases.

Well, such a trial has been completed.

Researchers studied almost 40,000 U.S. women over a 10 year period. About half the group received 600 IU of vitamin E every other day and the other half received a placebo.

During the ten-year follow-up, there were 827 cases of diabetes in the vitamin E group and 869 in the placebo group. In other words — statistically — there were no differences between the two groups.

Here is the conclusion of the study as stated by the researchers:

“In this large trial with 10-year follow-up, alternate-day does of 600IU of vitamin E provided NO significant benefit for type 2 diabetes in initially healthy women.”

This is just one recent study of many showing that taking a vitamin E supplement provides NO health benefit. In fact, a couple of recent studies have demonstrated a negative health impact (increased mortality) from taking vitamin E.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition, and Fitness