7 Healthcast: Vitamin E Danger

A quarter of all Americans take vitamin E for everything from cancer to wrinkle prevention. But now a study suggests that too much could actually harm you.

Dr. Edgar Miller, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
"Supplementing high dose vitamin e is certainly not going to protect you from disease, it may increase your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease."

The study found patients who took 400 or more international units - of vitamin E daily were 10% more likely to die - than people not taking any at all.

Researchers believe that there may be good reason to lower the recommended daily amount of the vitamin.

Dr. Edgar Miller, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
"The current recommended upper tolerable limit is 1000 international units per day. We think that's too high."

It's confusing - because vitamin E is often recommended for its antioxidant power. Plus, many supplements come in mega-doses.

Dr. Edgar Miller, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
"The pills or the capsules are typically 100 times more than we get from diet, and so we can't be lulled into thinking that a little bit of vitamin E is good, well, I'll take a lot more and that will be better for me."

Researchers say that until the potential risks are clear - patients should stick to getting their vitamin E from natural sources. Those include leafy green vegetables nuts and vegetable oils. They are the safest bet for your vitamins.

Since most of the study volunteers were over sixty - and already had health problems Hopkins researchers say these findings may not apply entirely to younger, healthy, adults.