Study Raises Doubts About Vitamin E Supplements

Vitamin E doesn't help prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease and can, in fact, increase the risk of heart failure. That's the conclusion of an extended trial of thousands of older people with a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes who were randomly assigned to take either 400 I.U. of vitamin E or a placebo. The results, published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found there was up to a 19 percent increase in the risk of heart failure in the study volunteers who took vitamin E compared to those on the placebo.