We'd all like to live longer and healthier lives, but it turns out, vitamin E is not the cure-all it was originally thought to be.

As the editors of Consumer Reports point out in the July 2005 issue, "the value of vitamin E supplements has not stood up to serious study." (Read: Vitamin E Pills: Now It's Thumbs-Down

"Within the past year or two, there have been at least three rather large, controlled, clinical trials," explains Dr. Marvin Lipman, the magazine's Medical Editor, "that show vitamin E does not protect against heart disease, it does not protect against cancer and it does not protect against Alzheimer's disease."

Add one more to that list. Results from the Women's Health Study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that vitamin E supplements "provided no overall benefit for major cardiovascular events or cancer" in women.

The study, which looked at both low-dose aspirin and vitamin E (600 International Units every other day), followed nearly 40,000 women health care professionals for 10 years. (Read the JAMA article.

The study did find that women 65 and older who took vitamin E supplements had a lower risk of heart attack.

And yet, Julie Buring, the epidemiologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital who headed the study still concludes, "When you look at the total package, I would not recommend that somebody take vitamin E supplements for the purpose of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer."

Could Vitamin E Supplements Be Harmful?

Consumer Reports warns that based on the latest research, taking vitamin E supplements could be detrimental for some people. The editors cite two studies:

• In one study participants took 400 IU of vitamin E daily. The vitamin supplements did not prevent cancer or heart attacks, but they "may have increased the risk of heart failure in people with diabetes or clogged arteries," the magazine writes.

• In the other study, where the same amount of vitamin E was taken, "it nearly tripled the risk of new cancers" for those being treatment for head and back cancer. Stopping the vitamin supplements appeared to reduce that risk."

Based on these and similar findings, Consumer Reports questions whether anyone "should bother - or risk - taking high doses of Vitamin E or other antioxidant vitamins."

Dr. Lipman told me the best way to get Vitamin E and other antioxidants, in the doses that your body needs, is through a healthy diet.

"Plenty of fruits and vegetables and add in a few nuts and sunflower seeds," he says, "and make sure you use good vegetable oil for your salad and I think you've got enough Vitamin E to last you a long time."

For More Information:

Study Finds Aspiring, Vitamin E Don't Prevent Cancer

Scientist Disputes Findings on Vitamin E

Vitamin E Harms more than Helps