I enjoyed "insider supplement secrets"

I enjoyed "Insider Supplement Secrets" in your January 2005 issue (p. 42). I'm curious to know if Dr. Ornish and Dr. Erasmus continue to take vitamin E after the recent information about its harmful effects.

Linda Ashcraft * Via email

Senior contributing editor Michael Downey responds: Drs. Ornish and Erasmus do continue to take vitamin E. They know that the study reported in the November 10, 2004 Annals of Internal Medicine was taken out of context by some media.

In fact, the researchers themselves warned about the risk of generalizing from the study and stated that the outcome applies only to those afflicted with serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's. An even closer look shows that the study was a review of 19 earlier trials, only one of which showed any greater mortality risk. These findings were limited to a very specific group; showed an extremely weak relationship at best; and were highly selective.

Meanwhile, a recent study concludes that vitamin E protects elderly patients from upper respiratory infections. And a study published in the November 2004 issue of Diabetes concludes that about 40 percent of diabetic patients can reduce their risk of heart attacks by taking vitamin E supplements. Perhaps because the results were not surprising, this research received virtually no media attention.

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