Are Vitamins A And E Really That Bad For You?

In April 2008, Sensationalist headlines were broadcasted and printed, warning us about the dangers of taking certain vitamins. It whipped up a storm and many people have understandably expressed concern over whether they should continue taking their supplements. The good old British media love a scare story and this most recent claim that vitamins A and E are bad for us is another example of creating mass hysteria for no real reason.

The funny thing about this most recent news, is that despite the way the media have portrayed the research, it doesn’t really tell us anything new. Nutritionists and dieticians have known for years that large doses of the fat soluble vitamins A and E are harmful for us. The reason being, is that unlike the other water soluble vitamins, A and E are stored in the body and not washed through. As a result, if you keep taking large doses of fat soluble vitamins you will toxify your body and run the risk of becoming very ill.

Another thing that this recent research has supposedly uncovered is that vitamins A and E are responsible for an increase in premature death rates. Well done researchers, so how did you find that out? Put 1000 people locked up in a room, give them the exact same diet and exercise levels for a few years and give half the group high doses of vitamins A and E? Of course they bloody didn’t. There is no way to accurately (and humanely) produce a study and come to the undeniable conclusion that certain vitamins can cause premature death. The variables in every individual’s life need to be considered, so claiming these vitamins are going to kill you is absurd.
However, this is of course not a license to go out and knock back fat soluble vitamins like they are Smarites. In high does they ARE dangerous, so always follow the guidelines if you do choose to pop a few capsules.

Another consideration which should be investigated to put value into this study, is how did they exactly come to the conclusion that vitamins A and E lead to premature death. How did these people die? There are many ways in which you could come to the conclusion that these vitamins caused an early death and I suspect the following possibility may be part of the answer.

The written media have for years told us of the benefits of vitamin E and how it can help reduce instances of heart disease. As we know, there are several reasons for heart disease such as poor diet, lack of exercise and hereditary factors. Based on this, I suspect there are many people in their 60’s who tick all of these boxes and read somewhere that supplementing the diet with vitamin E can help reduce instances of heart disease. So, says the overweight man who can’t be arsed to exercise or follow a healthy diet, I’ll pop a few vitamin E pills and hey presto my heart will be fine. A few years later when he dies an early death , it is more than possible that his fate was included in a one sided study setting out to vilify vitamin pills, which we subsequently read in the papers. “A man taking vitamin E dies prematurely (but lets not mention that he ate a lot of pies and the most exercise he got was changing the TV channel)

Research is always on going to prove the worth or ineffective attributes of vitamin supplementation. Whatever your concerns, just remember that moderation is the key. Take too much of anything and it’s not going to do you any good.