This powerful vitamin and antioxidant, circulating in the blood and detoxing free radicals (destructive by-products of metabolism), prevents damage to cell membranes, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer. Further, vitamin e keeps "bad" cholesterol (LDL) from turning into even worse cholesterol — oxidized LDL — which initiates buildup of arterial plaque (atherogenesis) and can lead, ultimately, to serious heart disease. Finally, it also speeds healing in burn and post-op patients and, recent studies suggest, seems to ease the pain and swelling of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, to reduce the risk of cataracts, to bolster the immune system, even to slow the progress of Parkinson's disease.