Respiratory infections and vitamin E

It’s time to fight the good fight.

Against the common cold that is.

I have some good information to follow up on yesterday’s e-Alert (“Calendar Girl” 9/1/04) about using a standardized extract of the herb andrographis to relieve and shorten the duration of upper respiratory infections.

Vitamin E may significantly reduce the risk of catching a common cold in the first place.

In a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers report on a study in which more than 600 subjects, aged 65 or older, received either a daily supplement of 200 IU of vitamin E or a placebo for a trial period of one year.

The results: Vitamin E supplements had no effect on lower respiratory tract infections, but did have a preventive effect on upper respiratory infections. In fact, the subjects who took E supplements had a 20 percent reduced risk of coming down with a common cold.

Right off, I can think of two things that might improve that percentage of reduced risk.

In the e-alert “Over the Teeth, Past the Gums” (2/5/03), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., recommended a vitamin E daily dose of 400 IU. Of course, more is not necessarily better, but doubling up on the 200 IU used in the study might, at the very least, help overcome problems of vitamin absorbency. Dr. Spreen also recommends supplementing with “mixed tocopherols” when taking vitamin E. Most vitamin E studies use only one form of tocopherol, which is not as effective as getting a mix.

Of course, there are plenty of good dietary sources of vitamin E, such as eggs, liver, nuts and seeds, spinach, broccoli, peaches, wheat germ and vegetable oils.

And when supplementing with vitamin E, Dr. Spreen strongly recommends an additional supplement of 200 mcg of selenium per day. As Dr. Spreen has pointed out, “Both selenium and vitamin E are intimately associated with stimulation of the part of the immune system dealing with production of immunoglobulins.” (The immune system uses immunoglobulins (or antibodies) to identify and neutralize viruses and bacteria.)

So before the cold and flu season sets in, make sure you’re getting plenty of vitamin E and selenium to help those immunoglobulins do their stuff.

“Vitamin E and Respiratory Tract Infections in Elderly Nursing Home Residents” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 292, No. 7, 8/18/04, jama.ama-assn.org
“Vitamin E may Help Elderly Ward off Colds” Alison McCook, Reuters Health, 8/17/04, reutershealth.com