Vitamin E seems to help elderly people fend off colds and other upper respiratory infections, according to a study in the Aug. 18 Journal of the American Medical Association.
Earlier studies of the effects of the antioxidant vitamin E against infection in elderly populations produced mixed results. In the new work, researchers gave 617 nursing home residents in the Boston area a daily multivitamin plus a capsule that contained either 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E or inert ingredients.
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