WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation –

Evidence continues to accumulate that Vitamin E can lower cholesterol levels, with one of the latest studies coming from Rome, where a team of scientists has not only determined how cholesterol accumulates, but how Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and helps clear cholesterol from arteries.

Dr. Francesco Violi, who headed the study, and 11 other scientists from Umberto I General Hospital in Rome, said the study focused on patients with high cholesterol levels and stroke victims who were to be operated on to relieve blocked arteries.

Patients received daily Vitamin E in amounts of 900 milligrams and the study found that not only were arteries unblocked, but that cholesterol levels were reduced to the point of disappearance.

Dr. Violi said foods containing antioxidants, such as tomatoes and other vegetables and fresh fruits, can help reduce cholesterol, and that the Mediterranean diet using large amounts of olive oil that contains Vitamin E also provides antioxidants that can help prevent heart attacks and stroke.

In the U.S., health studies continue to demonstrate that Vitamin E products can help reduce cholesterol. (Vitamin E in its natural form is made primarily from vegetable sources. Studies have shown that natural Vitamin E, made from vegetable oils including corn and sunflower oils, is at least twice as effective as health benefits from the chemically-manufactured version.)

The Washington Post recently reported, for example, that 50 current published studies on human health have indicated that Vitamin E products can help lower blood cholesterol levels.