Vitamin E is an antioxidant that enhances immune function and protects against cancer, heart disease, diabetic retinopathy and kidney disease. In 1990, researchers at the Tufts University USDA Human Nutrition Research Laboratory on Aging showed that 800 IU of vitamin E per day enhanced immune function in the elderly. In addition to enhanced cell-mediated immunity, they found vitamin E reduced formation of lipid peroxides, which can damage cell membranes and arterial lining cells and eventually lead to heart disease and diminished cellular function. Vitamin E also restored the levels of interleukins 2 and 6 to those seen in younger people, thereby restoring normal immune function. More recent studies show immune benefit with vitamin E doses as low as 200 IU per day.
Many studies show vitamin E protects against different cancers.
In addition, vitamin E helps prevent the most common cause of death, arteriosclerotic heart disease. A 1989 report said serum levels of vitamin E are a better predictor of heart disease risk than cholesterol. 11 People with the highest blood levels of vitamin E had the lowest risk of heart disease. More recently, researchers using megadoses of vitamin E have shown reversal of diabetic retinopathy and kidney disease. This was a small eight-month trial with 36 patients.