Evidence suggests that there exists a correlation between vitamin E and cholesterol levels in plasma. Although originally reported in subjects with hypercholesterolaemia, the relationship between vitamin E and cholesterol plasma levels was subsequently reported in healthy subjects also. For example, in one study1, the association between vitamin E and plasma cholesterol levels were measured in healthy Canadian Indians. Data on food intake was obtained from 24-hour diet recall questionnaires and blood samples were taken in order to assess the tocopherol (vitamin E) and cholesterol concentrations of plasma. A striking correlation was found between vitamin E and cholesterol and neither vitamin E or cholesterol demonstrated significant associations with other dietary components. Based on previous findings that have investigated the associations between vitamin E and lipoproteins, the researchers suggested that the vitamin E plasma levels were determined by the levels of lipoproteins in the blood.
As the levels of lipoproteins would also determine the amount of cholesterol in the blood, as cholesterol is transported on lipoproteins, it is reasonable to expect that vitamin E might correlate with cholesterol. In other words, vitamin E is packaged in lipoproteins with cholesterol, and this explains why as cholesterol levels increase in plasma, vitamin E levels also increase in plasma. All of the vitamin E in plasma is associated with the β-lipoprotein fraction, the fraction that is most commonly used to transport cholesterol. Therefore the association between cholesterol and vitamin E might be expected. There was also an association in the Indians between vitamin E and age. However as cholesterol rises with age, it would be expected that vitamin E would also rise with age. The fact that plasma cholesterol did not show correlation with other dietary components is also interesting, as it add more evidence that dietary fat and cholesterol are not able to influence plasma cholesterol levels.
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