|
Recent Articles
Commentary
Dear Mr. Morgenthaler,
Sun City, AZ
Praise for Oxnard, CA
Advertisement
Related Products from Health Freedom Nutrition
Nutra-6™
When "Natural" Isn't Quite Stereoisomers
As if having eight different types of Vitamin E molecules isn't complicated enough, there's an additional item of confusion: stereoisomerism. Don't let the word intimidate you.
However, when alpha-tocopherol is synthesized for vitamin supplements, a mixture of both forms results. If you look at the labels of most of Vitamin E supplements in the store, you'll see the active ingredient described as dl-alpha-tocopherol. Fortunately, the l- form is not harmful, but the mixture is not as potent as the d- forms.
The d- forms are called "natural," but this term has nothing at all to do with the source of the Vitamin E. It indicates that the vitamin is made entirely of the d-stereoisomer.
The Inside Story
When most people hear the word "oxidation" they think about rust
like the rust on an old pipe. Rusting is a form of oxidation. But it's only one formthe addition of an oxygen atom to another atom or molecule (iron in the pipe) to form an oxide (iron oxide in this case).
Free Radicals:
There is no denying free radicals wreak havoc in your body.
What the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Other Studies Have to Say About Vitamin E
A recent report by the National Institute of Health cited studies reporting Vitamin E's power to improve your health. These studies included:
|
The Hidden Truths About
|
| Kind of Tocopherol | Antioxidant Activity |
| d-alpha tocopherol | 100 |
| d-gamma tocopherol | 130 |
It's the same with the components of Vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol's major chore is to neutralize the effects of reactive oxygen in your body. Gamma-tocopherol's main job is to neutralize reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen. It also has higher antioxidant activity than alpha-tocopherol.
Gamma-tocopherol complements the activity of alpha-tocopherol and works together with the other six components of Vitamin E. These eight key components protect you from the ravages of free radicals and damaging oxidation at a cellular level.
Vitamin Ecomplete eight-component Vitamin E like that in the Mediterranean Dietis an insurance policy. It ensures you will be strong, healthy, and active for yourself, for your family and loved ones, and for those who depend on you.
We've mentioned free radicals and antioxidants quite a bit here and we're sure you've heard a lot about them in the past. But if you want to understand how important Vitamin E is to your overall health, we think that you'll appreciate a clearer picture of these two critical aspects of your health.
Free Radicals:
Are They the Real Villains?
You've heard so much negative press about free radicals (and their partner "oxidation") you might have been left with the impression that they are terrible villains whose sole purpose is to destroy your body. (Confused about what oxidation really is? See the sidebar "The Inside Story on Oxidation".)
This image could not be further from the truth.
Free radicals are normal by-products of a normal metabolism. In fact, they are a necessary part of a normal metabolism. Free radicals are also an important part of your immune system's arsenal against infection and disease. It's when they run amok that serious problems like cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and premature aging occur.
What Are Free Radicals?
Think back to high school chemistry for just a moment.Molecules are made up of atoms linked together by chemical bonds. Every atom consists of a nucleus at the center and electrons that travel around the nucleus. The important thing here is that electrons like to be paired.
Molecules are usually neutral. That is, every electron is paired with another one. But sometimes one of the outer electrons gets stripped away. This can happen as a result of normal metabolic activity. Or it can be due to environmental conditions like radiation, smoke, and pollution.
When an outer electron gets stripped away, the result is a free radical. The molecule doesn't like being in this state. It becomes very unstable and reactive and frantically seeks a way of neutralizing itself. It neutralizes itself by stealing an electron from another molecule.
You can see how this can start a chain reaction inside your body. One free radical steals an electron from another molecule, converting it into another free radical. That new free radical goes on and strips away an electron from yet another molecule. And so on.
Creating Damage Like a Runaway Train
The dangerous free radicals are the ones that are the most reactive. They steal electrons from any place they can get them such as your DNA or the natural fats in your body (called lipids).DNA is a huge, twisted molecule that carries all your genetic information. It is the master library in your cells that not only tells what your offspring are supposed to look like. It also tells each and every cell in your body what to do.
ANTIOXIDANTS
- Prevent the formation of excess free radicals
- Scavenge free radicals after they
have formed and before they
damage other molecules like
your DNA and lipids
and
before they can attack and
damage your cell membranes
- Repair damaged molecules or
replace the damaged ones with
new, healthy molecules
- Protect you safely and without causing more damage themselves
DNA tells your heart muscle cells to act like heart muscle cells and to grow into other heart muscle cells. It tells the marrow in your bones how to make red blood cells. It tells your lung cells how to grow and develop into fully functional lung cells.
So, when an electron gets stolen from your DNA, the DNA becomes damaged. If it isn't repaired or protected by an antioxidant, it will carry the wrong information. That wrong information can cause the cell where the damage is to develop into something its not supposed to beCancer. The cell thendevelops faster than it should and doesn't reproduce as it should.
When free radicals interact with lipids in cell membranes, something called lipid peroxidation occurs. This is just a fancy way of saying your lipids become rancid. Rancid, damaged membrane lipids are a major cause of blockages in your veins and arteries leading, of course, to coronary heart disease.
Free radical damage is so invasive that it's been fingered as a cause of almost every major chronic illness.
"Free radicals are cellular renegades; they wreak havoc by damaging DNA, altering biochemical compounds, corroding cell membranes, and killing cells outright. Such molecular mayhem, scientists increasingly believe, plays a major role in the development of ailments like cancer, heart or lung disease, and cataracts. Many researchers are convinced that the cumulative effects of free radicals also underlie the gradual deterioration that is the hallmark of aging in all individuals, healthy as well as sick."
Time Magazine, April 6, 1992
Antioxidants to the Rescue
As we said before, free radicals are highly reactive molecules that are looking to gain stability by stripping an electron from another moleculethat is, oxidizing it.What if we could find a molecule willing to give up an electron that was not as reactive as the free radical. A sort of "protector" molecule willing to give its life to protect yours. A molecule that as a free radical could easily and quickly be disposed of or safely metabolized back into another protector molecule. With such a molecule, the problem of free radicals could be solved. Your body could go on producing necessary free radicals while preventing unnecessary damage.
This is the perfect description of an antioxidant moleculea molecule whose molecular structure counteracts the effects of runaway oxidation produced by uncontrolled free radicals.
"This is the first time gamma-tocopherol has been shown to induce death in lab-grown human cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. The study shows that the anticancer effect is enhanced when mixed forms are used."
Qing Jiang
Assistant Professor
Purdue University
The Master Antioxidant:
Vitamin E
Nature has devised numerous antioxidants, but Vitamin E is one of the most powerful and works so effectively on a number of different levels that it's been dubbed the "Master antioxidant" by Andreas Papas, PhDrenowned adjunct professor at James Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University.
Vitamin E fights against free radicals in a number of different cellular arenas. But one of its most important functions appears to be protecting your cell membranes from free radical damage.
A thin membrane that acts as a cellular protector surrounds every cell in your body. But the cell membrane's function is much more complex than that. It also must transport nutrients and vital substances into the cell while transporting cellular waste products out.
Figure 2 shows a simplified diagram of a small piece of cell membrane. Phospholipidsa special type of lipid moleculesmake up a major part of the membrane. Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol are strategically placed in the cell membrane to act as guardians against free radicals.
Figure 2: Vitamin Protects Cell Membranes from Free Radicals

If a free radical attacks one of the lipids, a near-by tocopherol can take the brunt of the attack saving the phospholipid from having an electron removed (being oxidized) and becoming rancid. Or, if the phospholipid is oxidized, the tocopherol molecule quickly reverses the oxidation before long-term damage is done.
Similarly, the tocopherol molecules protect the cholesterol portion of your cell membrane.
It's important at this juncture to point out that both HDL ("good" cholesterol) and LDL ("bad" cholesterol) are important structural components of many parts of your cells including the membrane. They are also building blocks of many hormones and other physiologically important compounds.
It is only when LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized that it becomes a problem. Oxidized LDL cholesterol is the most important factor in getting blocked arteries. This blockage is the cause of coronary heart disease, heart attacks, phlebitis, and even strokes!
If not protected by Vitamin E, cholesterol in membranes and throughout your body will become oxidized by free radicals. The survival of a cell depends on the integrity of its membrane. If a phospholipid becomes oxidized, it migrates to the surface of the membrane.
The membrane structure loses its integrity and becomes leaky a death sentence for the cell.
Vitamin E's Special Powers
As mentioned earlier, free radicals don't attack just one other molecule and fall over dead. They start a chain reaction of destruction. Vitamin E has special powers to disrupt that chain reaction, especially in the membrane. By disrupting the chain reaction at the membrane, Vitamin E keeps the membrane fluid. A fluid membrane is necessary for it to do its critically important jobs in keeping your cellsand youalive. Other chain reaction breaking antioxidants are not able to do this.By sitting near the surface of the membrane, Vitamin E's active site (the chroman head) is available not only to fight free radicals. It is also easily accessible for regeneration by other antioxidants like vitamin C. Since Vitamin E can be so readily restored to its full fighting capacity, a single molecule can protect thousands of phospholipid molecules by deactivating attacking free radicals.
Vitamin E and Cell Communication
Your cells "talk" to each other. They have to or else the wonderfully complex, interactive thing called "you" could not exist. Without cellular communication, no multi-celled organism could exist. In fact, even the cells in the most primitive organisms communicate between each other.The Special Role of Nitric Oxide in Cell Communication
Your cells communicate in a number of ways, but one of the most surprising is by using the nitric oxide molecule (NO).In 1998, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to two scientistsDr. Robert Furchgott and Dr. Louis Ignarrofor their groundbreaking work in determining how this simple and unstable molecule conveys signals among cells.
Since Furchgott and Ignarro's pioneering work, NO has been found to have a wide range of very important functions:
- NOproduced in the lining of
arteriesdilates them as a way of
regulating blood pressure. In
atherosclerosis the lining loses
its ability to produce NO.
- White blood cells counter bacterial and fungal infections and parasite infestations by releasing enormous amounts of NO.
- White blood cells use NO to
defend against cancerous tumors.
So nitric oxide's role in your body is a case of good news-bad news. The molecule allows cells to carry on important communication that is essential to your staying alive. And it breaks down into molecules that speed up your death.
Gamma-Tocopherol Referees the Fight
This might seem like an un-winnable situation, but nature has once again provided an elegant solution in the form of gamma-tocopherol. Gamma-tocopherol has the ability to change highly reactive nitrogen back into safe NO. Or it can change it into a variety of harmless compounds.Alpha-tocopherol lacks this ability!
Purdue Study Points to Potent Cancer Protection
A recent Purdue University study led by Qing Jiang (pronounced "ching zhang") has indicated that gamma-tocopherolthe form of Vitamin E found in many plant seeds but not in most manufactured nutritional supplementsmight halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells.The research team found that gamma-tocopherol inhibits the proliferation of human prostate and lung cancer cells in lab tests. The vitamin's presence interrupts synthesis of certain fatty molecules called sphingolipids in cancerous prostate cells. However, the gamma-tocopherol leaves healthy human prostate cells unaffected, which could give it significant value as an anticancer agent.
"This is the first time gamma-tocopherol has been shown to induce death in lab-grown human cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone," said Jiang, who is an Assistant Professor of Foods and Nutrition in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences.
"This could be wonderful news for cancer patients if the effect can be reproduced in animal models. But because most nutritional supplements contain only alpha-tocopherol, a different form of Vitamin E that alone does not have these anticancer properties, it may be better to supplement the diet with mixed forms of Vitamin E. The study shows that the anticancer effect is enhanced when mixed forms are used."
A Quick Peek at the Other Tocopherols and Tocotrienols
The two most dominant forms of Vitamin E in the Mediterranean Diet and other whole food diets high in Vitamin E are alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol. Beta-tocopherol is present in lower quantities than either the alpha and gamma forms. And its antioxidant power is also lower.Delta-tocopherol has the strongest antioxidant power of all four tocopherols, but like beta-tocopherol, it is in lower quantities in a Vitamin E rich diet.
Tocotrienol's Vital Role
The main components of Vitamin E are the tocopherols. But the tocotrienols mentioned earlier are also important guardians of good health. The four tocotrienols differ from tocopherols by having double bonds in the tail of the molecule. The active chroman head structure remains the same as its analogous tocopherol.Most of the research into Vitamin E has been done on alpha- and gamma-tocopherols, but research on the tocotrienols is increasing and showing their importance in maintaining good health. For instance, research indicates that tocotrienols can clear atherosclerotic blockage in the carotid artery, a condition that can lead to stroke. (Lipids 1995 Dec; 30(12); 1179-83)
Cholesterol levels have also been lowered by the tocotrienol fraction of Vitamin E. One particular study involved 25 high cholesterol patients in a double blind study. The treatment group was given four capsules daily of tocotrienols mixed with palm oil, while the control group was given corn oil.
After eight weeks, total cholesterol and LDL levels decreased significantly in the 15 subjects given the palm tocotrienols, while the control group exhibited no change. (Am Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1991 Apr; 53 (4 suppl.): 1021S-1026S)
Tocotrienols are showing promise in the battle against cancer. Tests show tocotrienols have the ability to kill cancer cells by inducing programmed cell death (known as apoptosis). While doing this, it leaves healthy cells alone.
Human breast cancer cells have also responded positively to tocotrienol treatment as noted in a study of cancer cells in culture whose growth was inhibited. (Lipids 1995 Dec; 30 (12): 1139-43).
Other in vitro study cases have effectively demonstrated the ability of tocotrienols to hold back the growth of estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cell reproduction. (Lipids 1998 May; 33 (5): 461-9). Interestingly, in these studies, it was the gamma- and delta- forms of tocotrienols that did the trick, not alpha-tocopherolwhich actually proved ineffective.
A Closer Look at Alpha- and Gamma-Tocopherols Putting the Puzzle Together
There can be no doubt that Vitamin E is a powerful and much-needed antioxidant and guardian of health. Or, perhaps we should say that the eight different forms of Vitamin E are. But most studies of the efficacy of Vitamin Eincluding the recent Johns Hopkins studyhave concentrated on alpha-tocopherol.Likewise, most Vitamin E supplementation regimens involve only using alpha-tocopherol. Focusing only on this one, most dominant form of Vitamin E is a mistake. Living systems are in fact ecosystems. All the parts work together, and excessive interference with the natural balance can cause problems. Supplementation programs should seek to rebalance the internal ecosystem, not to overwhelm it.
Alpha-Tocopherol: Strong Fighter but Bully to Gamma-Tocopherol
A good example of this is the delicate balance your body maintains between alpha- and gamma-tocopherol.When in proper balance, alpha- and gamma tocopherols work in coordination with each other. Alpha-tocopherol's particular specialty is protecting your cells against the ravages of reactive oxygen. It is the main player in protecting your cell membranes against free radicals.
Gamma-tocopherol attacks and neutralizes both reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen. It forms a second line of defense against attacks on cell membranes. But it also protects NO from becoming cancer-causing nitrites and nitratessomething alpha-tocopherol does not do.
This is just one example of the subtle interplay between all eight components of the master antioxidant we know as Vitamin E.
However, while alpha-tocopherol is a strong fighter, it is also something of a bully. High levels of alpha-tocopherol (above 150 IU) suppress gamma-tocopherol levels. It is not known whether alpha-tocopherol also suppresses the other six components, but it is reasonable to suspect that it does.
By suppressing gamma-tocopherol, high levels of alpha-tocopherol suppress gamma's ability to protect you against heart disease, cancers, and other free radical related illnesses. In other words, if you take too much alpha-tocopherol, you are destroying gamma-tocopherol's ability to protect you from cancer and heart disease.
If you want Vitamin E to work for you, you need all the components in the correct amounts. Or you could be wasting your time or worse, your health.
The lesson to take away from thisand the lesson that seemed to go unnoticed in the Johns Hopkins studyis that Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and health protector. But it's one whose special balance and "ecology" must be respectedan ecology that is close to the balance of tocopherols and tocotrienols found in a whole foods, Mediterranean Diet.
Getting All Eight Tocopherols In the Correct, Natural Amounts
Probably the single best way to get your Vitamin E is through food sources high in the different tocopherols and tocotrienols. These sources represent a balanced mix of the necessary Vitamin E components to give you the most antioxidant protection against free radicals.Whole grains, nuts, dark green vegetables and some fruits are generally good sources. The following list represents the best sources of complete, dietary Vitamin E:
Wheat germ oil
Sunflower oil
Safflower oil
Corn oil
Soybean oil
Extra virgin olive oil
VEGETABLES & FRUITS
Spinach
Broccoli
Asparagus
Kiwi
Mango
Olives
NUTS & NUT PRODUCTS
Almonds
Sunflower seeds
Hazelnuts
Peanut butter
Peanuts
Pecans
Walnuts
Has All the Antioxidant Power Been Scoured Away?
A diet rich in the necessary tocopherols and tocotrienols represents the best theoretical source of Vitamin E protection. However, reality falls short of theory. A reality of our modern life is that it is often difficult or impossible to get enough of the required oils, nuts, fruits, and vegetables on a daily basis to supply the Vitamin E your body needs for optimum health.For starters, your busy life means you often have to skip well-balanced meals. Food taken on the run is usually food devoid of nutritional value.
Second, most of our foodeven that which passes itself off as freshhas been robbed of much of its nutritional riches. When you buy fresh broccoli, for instance, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that it has not been subjected to conditions that have depleted its supply of Vitamin E (and other crucial nutritional factors).
So, unless you are growing and picking your own food (without chemical fertilizers and bug sprays), you're probably only getting the very minimum your body needs to "keep going."
And you're not getting the full antioxidant, cancer and heart disease-fighting capabilities Vitamin Ecomplete 8-component Vitamin Ecan bring you.
Is Supplementation Safe? Yes with a WARNING
So it comes to this: if you're hoping to get the full benefits of Vitamin E from dietary sources alone, you will fall far short of what you need. You are not getting what you need to give yourself the optimum health you and your loved ones deserve.Your choice the only healthy choice you can make if you want to get the full antioxidant power of Vitamin E is to start on or continue a Vitamin E supplementation program.
But with a warning! Your supplementation program must follow the recommendation of Qing Jiang:
"Because most nutritional supplements contain only alpha-tocopherol, a different form of Vitamin E that alone does not have these anticancer properties, it may be better to supplement the diet with mixed forms of Vitamin E."
To ensure your Vitamin E supplementation program brings you the optimum anti-cancer, anti-heart disease benefits, you must:
- Use a supplement with all 8 Vitamin E components (tocopherols and tocotrienols).
- Use only the natural (d-) forms of tocopherols and tocotrienols
and avoid the mixed dl-synthetic forms.
- Keep your daily intake of alpha-tocopherol well below 100 IU, preferably near 30 IU.
- Use a supplement with at least 40 mg gamma-tocopherol, preferably 60 mg.
- Be careful of "so-called" mixed tocopherol supplements, which usually contain mostly alpha-tocopherol and provide more than 100 IU of alpha-tocopherol daily.
Do not wait. You should begin this safe, highly effective way of protecting your body from free radicals and other life-damaging oxidants right now! And you must do it completely with properly balanced, mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols.
References
- All information on the Johns Hopkins study was taken from the original study Miller et al. Meta-analysis: High Dose Vitamin E Supplementation May Increase or Cause Mortality. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2005;142:37-46; and the Johns Hopkins press release on the study "Study Shows High-Dose Vitamin E Supplements May Increase Risk of Death, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/11_10_04.html
- The Linus Pauling Institute, Traber Lab, http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ss03/vitamine.html
- Taken from http://www.rike-vita.co.jp/int/tocopherol/tocl.html
- Quoted from: Papas, Andres, The Vitamin E Factor, Harper Perennial, 1999, page 113.
- Qing Jiang, Jeffrey Wong, Henrik Fyrst, Julie D. Saba and Bruce N. Ames; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (online edition) December 13, 2004.
- Qing Jiang, Jeffrey Wong, Henrik Fyrst, Julie D. Saba and Bruce N. Ames; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (online edition) December 13, 2004.
- Qing Jiang, Jeffrey Wong, Henrik Fyrst, Julie D. Saba and Bruce N. Ames; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (online edition) December 13, 2004.
POB 4667 - Petaluma, CA 94955
1-800-976-2783
888-998-6889 (fax)
Tools & Links | Contact Smart Publications
Allergies | Alzheimer’s Disease | Anti-Aging | Anxiety | Cancer | Depression
Digestive System | Heart Attacks | Joint Pain | Life Extension | Liver Disorders | Memory
Menopause | Nutrition | Overall Health | Prevent Parkinson's Disease | Prostate
Sexual Health | Sleeping Disorders | Stress | The Common Cold | Urinary Tract
Vision | Vitamins | Weight Loss
to Smart Publications
E-newsletter
and receive weekly e-alerts from the world of nutritional medicine.
Just type your email address below and click on submit (unsubscribe anytime.)
Smart Publications Health & Wellness Update
the 16-page monthly newsletter.

and receive the latest information from the world of nutritional medicine.
>> subscribe for free!
FREE Catalog
from
Health Freedom Nutrition
A convenient way to shop and save!
>> request a calatog

