Why Vitamin E Is Dangerous for Your Prostate Health

Prior to a large study in 2008, it was thought that vitamin E could be beneficial for reducing the risk of prostate cancer.

However, according to Prostate Knowledge from Harvard University Medical School, the study, called the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial, showed that not only is vitamin E not beneficial for prostate health, it may actually increase men’s risk of developing prostate cancer.

Dr. Andrew Weil explained that more than 35,000 men enrolled in the SELECT study between 2001 and 2004.

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Some of the subjects were given a high dose of vitamin E, some were given both vitamin E and selenium, some were given only selenium, and the fourth group was given a placebo.

This study was double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers knew which patients were given which supplements.

Weil summarizes that in the group taking vitamin E alone, there were 17 percent more cases of prostate cancer when compared to the placebo group.

Weil went on to summarize a later analysis of the SELECT study conducted by the National Cancer Institute in 2014.

The analysis looked at selenium levels in combination with the vitamin E supplements.

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According to WebMD, one noteworthy finding of the analysis was the conclusion that men with high levels of selenium at the start of the study who were given selenium supplements had almost double the chance of developing the most aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Further, men who started the study with low levels of selenium who took the vitamin E supplement also had double the chance of developing high-grade prostate cancer.

Dr. Alan Kristal, associate head of the Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said, “No one’s ever been able to demonstrate any benefit for taking high doses of selenium or vitamin E, so why do it?”

Dr. Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colorectal cancers for the American Cancer Society, said that the SELECT study looked at levels of vitamin E and selenium that are "much higher than those found in a typical multivitamin, so there’s no downside to taking a daily multivitamin if desired."

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