Vitamin E & Heart Disease in Type-2 Diabetics

Vitamin E supplements may counteract complications in type-2 diabetics linked to an increased risk of heart disease.*

There are an estimated 20 million diabetics in the US. Cardiovascular disease is known to be increased by type-2 diabetes.

Researchers studied 37 type-2 diabetics who received received the daily vitamin E supplements for 10 weeks and then followed them for another 20 weeks. The study showed the PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor) levels decreased by 32% after 10 weeks and returned to near baseline levels after 20 more weeks without supplementations.

This study concludes that vitamin E supplements may have a beneficial effect for those with type-2 diabetes in relation to their risk for heart disease.

*Vignini, A., Nanetti, L., Moroni, C., Testa, R., Sirolla, C., Marra, M., Manfrini, S., Fumeli, D., Marcheselli, F., Mazaanti, L., Rabini, R.A. “A study on the action of vitamin E supplementation on plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 and platelet nitric oxide production in type 2 diabetic patients.” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2007.01.02.