Science / Medicine : Vitamin E and Infections

A new study reports Vitamin E appears to bolster the immune systems of elderly men and women, a finding that suggests the vitamin may help people fend off infections and other diseases as they age.

In the study, Dr. Simin Nikbin Meydani at the the Agriculture Department’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and her colleagues asked 32 subjects over age 60 to take either 800 milligrams of vitamin E every day for 30 days or a useless substitute without changing any other aspect of their diet.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin E is about 15 milligrams a day.

The researchers found that a majority of those who took vitamin E experienced what appeared to be significant improvements in the function of their immune systems, Meydani said. There were no adverse side effects.