Sir, - Dr Bill Tormey's letter (September 10th) in reference to two studies appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine (May 1st) did not make any reference to a third study which appeared in the same issue and which, I think, is very relevant to some of the points both he and Katherine Holmquist made.
This particular study observed that in a group of more than 34,000 post-menopausal women, mortality from coronary heart disease was lower among those whose initial dietary reports indicated a relatively high intake of vitamin E from food. Consumption of vitamin E supplements, on the other hand, was not associated with a decrease in risk.
This is just one of a number of observational studies which increasingly support the view that, for the population at large, eating relatively large quantities of vegetables and fruits (and not trying to replace or supplement these with vitamin pills) does seem to be associated with a reduced risk of death, particularly from cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. - Yours, etc.,
Clonard Drive.
Dundrum
Dublin 16.