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Vitamin E could help ease the pain of menstrual cramps, recent
study findings suggest.
High levels of hormone-like substances
called prostaglandins have been implicated in dysmenorrhea, or painful
menstruation.
Because vitamin E can help block prostaglandin formation, researchers
decided to test the vitamin as a treatment for dysmenorrhea.
The researchers studied 100 high school students aged 16 to 18
who reported experiencing mild, moderate or severe pain during menstruation.
Half of the students took five vitamin E tablets per day for 2 days
before and 3 days after they began menstruating, while the other
half, the comparison group, took five inactive placebo tablets.
At the 2-month follow-up, individuals in both the vitamin E group
and the comparison group reported experiencing
less menstrual pain than they did at the start of the
study. Students in the vitamin E group, however, reported slightly
less pain than those in the comparison group.
British Journal of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology 2001;108:1181-1183
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