Vitamins E and C Confirmed Safe at High Doses

[Guest guest]

Vitamins E and C Confirmed Safe at High Doses

02 May 2005 Medical News Today

Fourteen leading safety and antioxidant experts reviewed the

available scientific literature on vitamins E and C and concluded

vitamin E is safe for the general population at intakes up to 1600 IU

daily and vitamin C is safe at up to 2000 mg daily, according to a

new article published in the April issue of the American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition (AJCN).

" This peer-reviewed expert analysis should help reassure consumers

about the safety of vitamin E for a healthy population at the most

common daily doses on the market -- 400 IU and 200 IU -- for vitamin

E single supplements, " said Hathcock, Ph.D., vice president,

scientific and international affairs, Council for Responsible

Nutrition (CRN), and the lead author on the article. However, Dr.

Hathcock pointed out that consumers should not view the study's

conclusions as a license to exceed recommended doses on product

labels, noting that the UL ( " Tolerable Upper Intake Level " ) is a dose

at which " there is no known harm but it is not a recommendation or

suggestion for daily use. "

In reviewing the available scientific literature on vitamins E and C,

the scientists reviewed clinical trials as well as epidemiological

studies in humans, determining there was sufficient information from

human data to support a conclusion on safety. This is in contrast to

the approach taken by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a scientific

advisory body, which established its UL for vitamin E based on an

extrapolation from animal data. The IOM set a UL at 1000 mg for

vitamin E (which is equivalent to 1000 IU synthetic; 1500 IU

natural).

With regard to vitamin C, the authors noted that " Numerous studies of

vitamin C supplementation have provided no pattern of evidence to

support concerns about safety other than occasional gastrointestinal

upset or mild diarrhea... " The authors came to the same conclusion as

the IOM in establishing the UL at 2000 mg for vitamin C.

The review of the scientific literature encompassed 95 references,

including the recent, controversial meta-analysis on vitamin E from

s Hopkins University.

Vitamins E and C are among the most popular dietary supplements. Many

studies suggest that these antioxidant supplements, either alone or

in combination with other supplements, can help promote overall good

health and be helpful in lowering the risk of specific chronic

diseases, such as Alzheimer's, age-related macular degeneration,

cataracts, some types of cancer, and ischemic heart disease.

The article, titled " Vitamins E and C are safe across a broad range

of intakes, " is available on-line at:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/81/4/736.

In addition to Dr. Hathcock, the authors include: Angelo Azzi, M.D.,

Ph.D., the University of Bern, Switzerland; Blumberg, Ph.D.,

Tufts University; Tammy Bray, Ph.D., Oregon State University,

Corvallis; Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., Council for Responsible

Nutrition; Balz Frei, Ph.D., Oregon State University, Corvallis;

Ishwarlal Jialal, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, ; Carol

S. ston, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Mesa; J. ,

Ph.D., King's College, London, United Kingdom; Klaus Kraemer, Ph.D.,

formerly with BASF, Germany; Lester Packer, Ph.D., University of

Southern California, Los Angeles; Sampath Parthasarathy, Ph.D.,

Louisiana State University, New Orleans; Helmut Sies, M.D., Ph.D.,

Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany; Maret G. Traber,

Ph.D., Oregon State University, Corvallis.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a

Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing dietary

supplement industry ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. CRN

members adhere to a strong code of ethics, comply with dosage limits

and manufacture dietary supplements to high quality standards under

good manufacturing practices.

Council for Responsible Nutrition

http://www.crnusa.org