Vitamin E, C Touted By UC Group

BERKELEY, Calif., July 21

(UPI) -- University of California health advisers say people need to take vitamin E and C supplements to get the benefit of disease-fighting properties, and can't rely entirely on multivitamins.

They say in this month's issue of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter that multivitamin pills with even 200 percent of government-recommended ''daily values'' of vitamins C and E aren't enough. Antioxidants in the vitamins fight free radicals that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other health threats.

The Wellness Letter recommends 200 to 800 international units of vitamin E and 250 to 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day, preferably from a pill since it's impractical to obtain an equivalent amount in food.

Researchers say consumers would have to eat a pound or two of sunflower seeds or two quarts of corn oil to get the same amount of vitamin E, and large quantities of broccoli, peppers, kiwi fruit and oranges for enough vitamin C.Besides having antioxidant properties, they say studies suggest vitamin E supplements may improve control of blood sugar by enhancing the action of insulin and affecting cell membranes.

The Wellness Letter is published by UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and reports on nutrition, fitness and stress management.