Vitamin E Boosts Your
Heart Health

Vitamin E is actually a group of compounds, the tocopherols and tocotrienols. The most biologically active form of this vitamin is Alpha-tocopherol, and is found in small amounts in foods, especially vegetable oils - including corn, soybean, and safflower - wheat germ, and nuts. Alpha-tocopherol should be a part of everyone's antioxidant regimen. It may also interfere with inflammatory processes within the body that could further jeopardize your cardiovascular health, without this intervention. There is also evidence that it slows the formation of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

At Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, researchers in the Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (CHAOS) looked at the effects of tocopherol on 2,002 people with confirmed heart disease. A little more than half the individuals were given alpha-tocopherol capsules (some at a dose of 800 IU/day, others at 400 IU/day for a median of 510 days, and the remaining participants were given placebo capsules. The journal Lancet reported that the group taking the active vitamin had a 77% reduced risk of a non-fatal heart attack when compared to the placebo group. These results came within six and a half months of taking the supplements.

There is a caution to be aware of with this vitamin. Because it has mild blood-thinning properties, you should talk to your doctor if you are already taking an anticoagulant or blood thinner such as Coumadin or aspirin. Your doctor might suggest that you not take a tocopherol supplement to avoid increasing the blood-thinning properties of the drugs you are taking.

There are many studies that confirm the positive effects of tocopherols on oxidizing free radicals before they can cause cardiovascular or other serious diseases.

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