Middle-aged and older mice given high doses of vitamin E suffered less damage to certain proteins in blood and brain tissue associated with aging than did mice given beta carotene. Healthy people age 65 or older who took vitamin E supplements of 200 IU a day have stronger immune systems than those who did not take the supplements. If you also factor in the vitamin E contained in multivitamins, the nutrient accounts for almost one-third of all vitamin sales. Truly, vitamin E supplements are the Beanie Babies of the drug world. If free radicals go unchecked, they can damage the genetic wiring of cells, leaving them vulnerable to cancers and other diseases.
Antioxidants protect the cells, thereby giving a helping hand to our immune systems.
As more doctors recommend vitamin E supplements to their patients, the question of how much is needed to provide the benefits has arisen. That would appear to be the logical solution, but not everyone is convinced that supplements are the way to go. Moreover, lost in all the recent hoopla has been earlier research that couldn't establish a connection between vitamin E and increased disease protection. Such disparities, however, are unlikely to impede the popularity of the nutrient with doctors or consumers.