Large doses of vitamin E may help
normalize retinal blood flow problems and improve kidney function in people
with diabetes, according to researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Centre in
Boston.
According to the August issue of Diabetes Care, retinal blood flow increased to
a near-normal rate and kidney function also improved in type 1's who took 1,800
IU of vitamin E.
Researchers randomly assigned 36 patients with type 1 diabetes and nine nondiabetic control subjects to 1,800 IU of vitamin E per day or a placebo for four months. The vitamin E was natural d-tocopherol acetate dissolved
in edible vegetable oil. The placebo contained soybean oil. The subjects then switched pills for an additional four months. Practitioners were unaware which group had the real thing.
Dr. George L. King of Joslin reports that after four months, retinal blood flow was significantly increased in type 1 patients after vitamin E treatment. He adds that vitamin E treatment decreased creatinine levels and
normalized kidney function in type 1 patients. He says that HbA1c was not affected by the vitamin E dosage in type 1 patients. ”What we found is that a low dose of vitamin E is an antioxidant,” King says. “Higher doses have the ability to inhibit enzymes that are involved in diabetic complications.”
Sixty Times the Recommended Daily Allowance
Researchers randomly assigned 36 patients with type 1 diabetes and nine nondiabetic control subjects to 1,800 IU of vitamin E per day or a placebo for four months. The vitamin E was natural d-tocopherol acetate dissolved
in edible vegetable oil. The placebo contained soybean oil. The subjects then switched pills for an additional four months. Practitioners were unaware which group had the real thing.
Dr. George L. King of Joslin reports that after four months, retinal blood flow was significantly increased in type 1 patients after vitamin E treatment. He adds that vitamin E treatment decreased creatinine levels and
normalized kidney function in type 1 patients. He says that HbA1c was not affected by the vitamin E dosage in type 1 patients. ”What we found is that a low dose of vitamin E is an antioxidant,” King says. “Higher doses have the ability to inhibit enzymes that are involved in diabetic complications.”
Sixty Times the Recommended Daily Allowance
In an editorial accompanying the report, Dr.
Sushil K. Jain of the Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport
says that the dosage of vitamin E used in the study was 60 times greater than
the
recommended daily allowance of 30 IU per day, and that not much is known about potential problems that could arise from such a high level.
King recommends that people with type 1 diabetes take 500 to 700 IU of vitamin E per day.
Vitamin E and Type 2 Diabetes
recommended daily allowance of 30 IU per day, and that not much is known about potential problems that could arise from such a high level.
King recommends that people with type 1 diabetes take 500 to 700 IU of vitamin E per day.
Vitamin E and Type 2 Diabetes
In a previous study conducted on people with type 2 diabetes, researchers discovered that vitamin E supplementation could aid in the prevention of mild to moderate peripheral neuropathy in individuals with type 2 diabetes. According to the November 1998 issue of Diabetes Care, patients receiving 900 IU per day of vitamin E
for six months demonstrated increased motor nerve velocity when compared to a placebo.
A Summary of Vitamin E Research for People with Diabetes
In a January 1991 issue of Diabetes Care, it was demonstrated for the first time that vitamin E in patients with diabetes reduces protein glycoslation, which is a process where glucose attaches itself to the hemoglobin inside
your red blood cells, contributing to complications. Also, a study conducted by vitamin manufacturer Hoffman-LaRoche of Switzerland reported that doses as low as 200 IU of vitamin E significantly reducedglycoslation.
In other vitamin E studies:
* The May 1993 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that large doses of vitamin E improved blood glucose utilization and insulin action in people with type 2 diabetes. The study said that vitamin E is safe in amounts less than or equal to 800 IU per day, but could be unsafe at 1,000 IU or more per day. The researchers suggest that patients check with their health care professionals to see if they have any suggestions or opposition to taking 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E a day.
* A November 1993 issue of Diabetes Care reported that vitamin E reduced plasma glucose, triglycerides, fatty acids and total cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes after a three-month test period. HbA1c levels were also significantly lowered.
* A study in a 1995 British Medical Journal found that below-average vitamin E levels were associated with a 390 percent increase in the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
* In 1995, research conducted by Sven-Erik Bursell, PhD, of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, suggested that 1,300 IU doses of vitamin E on a daily basis altered the development and progression of retinopathy.
* Other studies have shown vitamin E’s benefit on cardiovascular activity. In a March 1996 issue of Lancet, researchers showed that vitamin E supplements reduced heart attacks by 75 percent in a group of 2,000
patients with heart disease. In a May 1996 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed that postmenopausal women who took vitamin
E were 62 percent less likely to die from heart disease. Also, a 1996 study of 2,002 patients with serious heart disease was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. After 17 months, 41 members of a placebo group suffered from nonfatal heart attacks, while only 14 people taking 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E daily suffered nonfatal heart attacks.
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