Health: To E or not to E

Raise your hand if you take vitamin E. Maybe, like millions of others, you hope its antioxidant properties can ward off heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer’s. But ponder a new review of 19 clinical trials involving more than 135,000 participants that determined that taking high doses of the vitamin (400 international units or more) may actually increase overall mortality and should be avoided. Be advised, though, that this will surely not be the last word on the topic. Expect other researchers, as well as the vitamin industry, to dispute the findings and weigh in with their studies. Feel any better now?