Vitamin E May Be Good for Your Bones

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Vitamin E May Be Good for Your Bones

United Press International

DAMARIS CHRISTENSEN, UPI Science News

June 21, 2001

DENVER, Jun 20, 2001 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Vitamin E may

prevent bone loss after menopause as

effectively as estrogen, according to an animal study presented Wednesday at the

annual meeting of the Endocrine

Society.

As many as 25 million people in the United States suffer from the thin, brittle

bones of osteoporosis. Women are

especially vulnerable once they hit menopause and their ovaries produce less

estrogen, causing them to lose bone

density, the report said.

In a menopause model, female rats that had their ovaries removed soon begin to

lose bone mineral density. Rats given

estrogen or vitamin E after the ovaries were removed had much higher bone

densities after eight weeks than rats that

received no treatment, said Dr. Sunil J. Wimalawansa, of the University of Texas

Medical Branch at Galveston.

The treated rats had about the same bone density as rats that had received sham

surgeries eight weeks before.

The dose of vitamin E given to the rats was equivalent to what a human would

take as a dietary supplement, about 400

international units or I.U. daily. Combining estrogen and vitamin E did not

appear to offer any additional benefits,

Wimalawansa reported.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, meaning it soaks up so-called free radicals or

substances that can damage tissue, including

bone.

" Appropriate doses of vitamin E, at least in rats, appears to reduce menopausal

risk of developing osteoporosis, "

Wimalawansa said. " If this applies to humans, it could be a very exciting and

cost-effective treatment for the future. "

Wimalawansa plans to pursue studies of vitamin E in preventing bone loss in

people.

" This study on its own is not enough to recommend vitamin E supplements without

confirmation in people, " said Dr.

Lorraine A. Fitzpatrick, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. " But it gives

great hope for a preventive agent that

would give us a cost-effective alternative to current medications. "

Wimalawansa said vitamin E supplements already are recommended for people at

risk of developing heart disease and, at

400 I.U. per day, are not known to have any side effects.

Taking calcium and exercising regularly also helps prevent osteoporosis

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Good Health & Long Life,

Greg ,

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gowatson

gowatson@...