Vitamin E And A Healthy Heart

Author: Stephen Holt, M.D.
Excerpt from: The Natural Way To A Healthy Heart

Another antioxidant vitamin is finally garnering the respect it deserves: vitamin E is making its way into conventional medical practice, but this was not always the case. Two Canadian physicians and brothers, Evan and Wilfred Shute, are responsible for alerting the health-care community about the benefits of vitamin E. The doctors used vitamin E treatment extensively in their practice, and later researchers began to corroborate the beneficial observations that they made in their research. It is now known that low vitamin E levels are linked with elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol. Like vitamin C, this nutrient prevents oxidation of LDL. When LDL and vitamin E are present together, LDL is resistant to oxidation. Vitamin E also is a natural anticlotting agent, and the higher the serum level of vitamin E, the less sticky the platelets become. Given all the evidence about vitamin E as a natural blood thinner, one has to wonder why it is not used universally in the treatment of patients with cardiac disease. Since vitamin E prevents, or slows down, plaque buildup in the arteries as well as possibly raises levels of HDL, it is one of the premiere heart-smart nutrients.