Vitamin E Linked to Lung Cancer

[Guest guest]

From Dr. Mercola...........

Vitamin E Linked to Lung Cancer

Taking high doses of vitamin E supplements can

actually increase the risk of lung cancer.

A study of 77,000 people found consuming 400 milligrams of vitamin E per

day increased cancer risk by 28 percent. Smokers were at particular risk.

 

An expert writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical

Care Medicine said that people should get their vitamins from fruit and

vegetables rather than supplements.

Vitamin E is known to be an antioxidant that protects cells from

molecules called free radicals. But in high doses, it may also act as a

pro-oxidant, causing oxidation and damage to cells.

Sources:

 

 

BBC News February 29, 2008

 

 

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine March 1, 2008;

177(5):524-30

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

At first glance this article may appear to be nothing but another attempt

to assassinate a natural health-promoting agent. However, there is some

truth to these findings, which is why it’s important to weed through it

to discern what’s what.

Vitamin E: Healer or Killer? Two

Sides of the Same Coin

There have been numerous studies pointing out the

two sides of vitamin E.

On the one hand vitamin E has been found to have strong health promoting

influences by protecting against damaging free radicals – because it is a

very effective antioxidant for many fats.

On the other, it has been found that it can also increase, rather than

reduce, oxidation and speed up the onset of both heart disease and cancer

 

if you smoke and eat a diet high in polyunsaturated fat.

According to one such study, vitamin E can induce heart disease through

“reductive stress.” Reductive stress is a condition caused by excessive

levels of reduced glutathione, which is one of your body’s most powerful

antioxidants. When your cells work properly, they produce just the right

amount of reduced glutathione, which is healthy for your body. However,

in some people, a mutated gene can disrupt the fine balance, causing the

cells to produce too much.

Additionally, vitamin E should not be given to certain brain injured

children, such as those with some types of autism. In these cases,

accumulations of long chain fats require oxidation to remove them, which

is impaired by vitamin E, actually making the disease worse.

On the other hand, one classic

NEJM

 

study found that vitamin E can reduce your risk for heart

disease by up to 80 percent.

Another study published in Life Extension Magazine came to the

same conclusion, stating that

 

vitamin E reduces high levels of the inflammation-causing proteins

C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6, which are likely contributors to heart

disease. (Blood levels of both CRP and IL-6 are often elevated in

patients with heart disease, indicating an increased risk for heart

attack.)

And other studies have shown that vitamin E:

 

 

 

May lower risk of asthma and allergies

 

May help treat menstrual pain

 

Improves circulation in diabetics

 

Helps prevent prostate and breast cancers

 

Slows down cognitive decline

 

May help hot flashes

 

So as you can see, there’s plenty of evidence for both sides of the

argument. Vitamin E may lower the risk of disease in some people, and

raise the risk in others.

But what’s most likely at the heart of this discrepancy?

All Vitamin E are Not Created

Equal

Ever since its discovery in 1922 there has been

much discussion over what type of vitamin E is best. Many do not know

that the term “vitamin E” actually refers to a family of at least eight

fat-soluble antioxidant compounds, divided into two groups of molecules:

tocopherols (which are considered the “true” vitamin E) and

tocotrienols.

Each of the tocopherol and tocotrienol subfamilies contains four

different forms:

 

Alpha-

Beta-

Gamma-

Delta-

 

Each one of these subgroups has its own unique biological

effects.

Ideally, vitamin E should be consumed in the broader family of mixed

natural tocopherols and tocotrienols, (also referred to as full-spectrum

vitamin E) to get the maximum benefits.

And there’s the main problem: the vitamin E most often referred to and

sold in most stores is a synthetic form of the vitamin, which really

should NOT be used if you want to reap any of its health benefits.

 

You can tell what you’re buying by carefully reading the label.

Natural vitamin E is always listed as the “d-“ form

(d-alpha-tocopherol, d-beta-tocopherol, etc.)

Synthetic vitamin E is listed as “dl-“ forms

 

When vitamin E is stabilized by adding either succinic acid or acetic

acid, the chemical name changes from tocopherol to tocopheryl (as in

d-alpha-tocopheryl succinate, for example).

Your body can easily distinguish between natural and synthetic vitamins,

and several studies have shown that natural vitamin E is between two and

three times as bioactive as the same amount of synthetic vitamin

E.

And that brings us to the best source of natural vitamins…

Food, Not a Supplement, is Your

Best Source of Vitamin E

Free radicals are a natural byproduct of

breathing; antioxidants such as vitamin E mop up the excess, and leave

the rest of the free radicals to fulfill their other functions, which

include things like turning air and food into chemical energy, and aiding

your immune response by attacking foreign invaders and bacteria.

 

This fine balancing act can be easily tipped to the point of either too

much or too little. Eliminating or dramatically reducing free radicals

could actually lead to more problems than are solved.

The Goldilock's equation, meaning

 

you need just the right

amount

 

to achieve optimal health -- not too much and not too little, is the

answer here.

And your body can do a phenomenal job of self-regulating many of these

levels if you supply it with wholesome, healthy foods and dramatically

limit your intake of processed foods, which are loaded with artificial

chemicals.

 

Tocopherol and its subgroups are found in certain nuts and green

leafy vegetables. Sources of

 

tocotrienols include palm oil, rice bran and barley oils. However,

many Americans do not get nearly enough of dietary vitamin E due to their

poor dietary choices.

So yes, vitamin E is a wonderful antioxidant with powerful health

benefits, but you need to make sure you’re getting them from the right

sources -- from the food you eat. A diet rich in fresh vegetables and

nuts will usually supply you with the whole nutrients needed to walk this

fine line.

Always remember that not only are nuts and leafy greens rich in vitamin

E, they also contain hundreds of other natural chemicals that create a

synergistic effect where the total benefit is far greater than the sum of

its parts.

When buying vegetables, I strongly recommend you try to find locally

grown,

 

organic produce, as they often contain greater concentrations of

vital nutrients.

Remember also that the

Take Control

of Your Health program, which includes the entire program of eating

the healthiest foods in all the right proportions for

 

your nutritional type, can help you solve most of the problems with

“too much” versus “too little” when it comes to essential nutrients.

 

If you are not eating properly according to your nutritional type -- by

far the most important step you can take to improve your health -- no

supplement will " save " you.

 

 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/10/vitamin-e-linked-to-lung-cancer.aspx