How much do you really know about the vitamin supplements that you take on a regular basis? If it’s a lot then well done, but the chances are you are much like the many people who take daily supplements without really knowing an awful lot about what they are doing to your body. And now it seems that if vitamin E is one of those on your daily list, you might have something to worry about.
New research has found that taking a daily vitamin E supplement could lead to your bones becoming thinner and weaker. The research team from Keio University in Tokyo performed a number of tests on rats and discovered that taking vitamin E stimulates bone-degrading cells that weaken the bones.
Specifically the study found that alpha-tocopherol, which is the most common form of vitamin E, promotes a process in which minerals are broken down and recycled in the body. This leads to the bones themselves becoming weaker.
Interestingly the study also discovered that mice with low blood levels of vitamin E grew excessively thick bones. This was thought to be down to their bodies being poor at breaking down old bone rather than building healthy new bones.
The mice that were given the vitamin E supplement experienced a 20 percent reduction in bone thickness after just eight weeks. This is a very significant factor and shows just how powerful the supplement can be.
Importantly, however, the researchers added that the same effect did not occur when animals were given a form of vitamin E called delta-tocopherol. While it is less common, recent studies have suggested that delta-tocopherol is actually beneficial to bone health. However, the authors of the study were quick to point out that these tests were not always conclusive and that more research is required to fully understand the different forms of vitamin E.
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