Taking high doses of vitamin E may increase a person’s overall risk of dying in any given year, according to a controversial new analysis. The US researchers say the finding - whose cause is unknown - suggests people should stop taking high doses of the popular supplement.Earlier studies suggest vitamin E, an antioxidant, has either no effect on mortality rates or lowers the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. And unlike some other antioxidants, such as vitamin A, vitamin E does not accumulate in the body, potentially becoming toxic. So US dietary guidelines, while not recommending vitamin E supplements, set a high upper limit of 1500 international units (IU) for their daily intake. Most of the 25% of US adults who take vitamin E supplements take them in large doses - greater than 400 IU per day."People take high doses because they think they’re going to live longer,” says lead author Edgar R. Miller, a physician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. “But this research doesn’t support that. The death rate is higher with high doses.”
