Donna,
I am also interested in trying to get a clear picture of what's most & least
helpful for me in terms of vitamins, foods, herbs, or whatever. As that
interest is very recent, my knowledge is very limited. Here's one small
piece of the picture I can share. In the March l, 1997, issue of Science
News, a study was mentioned which reported that vitamin E at doses of 70 mg
was highly protective concerning free radical damage to cells, & the
protection was about the same at 70 mg as at higher doses. Too much E
(1050mg in this study), of course, appeared to be detrimental to nonsmokers,
in whom the vitamin at that dose seemed to actually foster the production of
free radicals. According to the article, "....cells from heavily
supplemented smokers didn't show the same effect......presumably because any
excess vitamin was being used up in detoxifying radicals generated by
smoking." This study dealt with "cells" in general. I don't know whether
the effect of vitamin E varies according to the type of cell being studied.
Mary Legan
