While the total cholesterol levels for these men remained the same, it is believed that the men taking vitamin E were at lower risk for heart disease because of their lower levels of oxidized LDLs. The dosage of vitamin E used is more than 25 times the U.S. RDA of 30 IU, and some believe that to prevent heart disease, even larger amounts may be necessary ("Vitamin E Prevents 'Good' LDLs from Turning 'Bad'" 8). Similar results were reported in a pilot trail at the University of Graz in Austria, but there the lag in oxidation was tied more to the LDLs' total antioxidants than to tocopherol alone (Raloff 142).
Along with vitamin C and beta carotene, vitamin E seems to absorb free radicals, the unstable molecules created by various normal chemical processes in the body and which can also be created by solar or cosmic radiation, cigarette smoke, and other environmental influences. These free radicals are ch
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