Vitamin E Supplement

Lung Disease: Its Prevalence and Risk Factors The National Institutes of Health lists COPD, also known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as one of the major causes of disability and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Currently there are over 12 million people diagnosed with COPD and it is estimated that another 12 million may have COPD but not realize it. Both men and women suffer from COPD.

Symptoms include a chronic cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. Cigarette smoking is listed as the most common cause of COPD accounting for 9 out of 10 COPD-related deaths.

Other risk factors include long-term exposure to pollutants that irritate the lungs, such as certain chemicals, dust, or fumes in the workplace, or exposure to secondhand smoke. Observational studies have consistently reported an association between high antioxidant status in lung tissues with low risk of COPD and asthma. Scientists theorize that the imbalance of oxidant/antioxidant in lung tissues may raise the risk of COPD.

Science-Supported Vitamin E Benefits for Lung Health A Cornell University study, led by Dr. Anne Hermetet Agler of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, analyzed the data of 38,597 women (smokers and non-smokers alike) who participated in a Women's Health Study (WHS) that focused on the potential effects aspirin and vitamin E may have on cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Female health professionals, aged 45 or older, participated in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Each received either a Vitamin E supplement (600 IU every other day) plus aspirin (100 mg every other day) or a placebo. During the ten-year follow-up, researchers documented new cases of chronic lung disease in the two control groups. At the end of the study, in 2004, the group that received Vitamin E supplementation reported only 760 new cases as compared to the placebo group that reported 846 new cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The inference drawn from the analysis suggests that Vitamin E supplementation may reduce the onset of COPD, irrespective of the smoking status, by 10 percent in women over 45. The study's findings were published in the journal, Thorax.

How Vitamin E Works to Protect Lung Health Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin that has long been studied for its potential preventive role in lung disease. As an antioxidant, Vitamin E is able to inhibit the oxidation of other molecules, thus reducing the production of unstable, harmful molecules, called free radicals. Free radicals are formed when the body converts food to energy, inhales cigarette smoke, or is exposed to air pollution and ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Free radical activity results in cellular damage and is one of the proposed reasons for the development of lung disease and other degenerative diseases. Antioxidants, particularly Vitamin E, help to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals.