With vitamin E, keeping the family together is important.

In previous AllStarHealth blogs, we’ve made the point that  Vitamin E isn’t really one vitamin, it’s a group of 8 distinct vitamins, all of which have distinct functions and most of which are present when you obtain vitamin E from whole foods. The best vitamin E supplements now reflect this and contain a full range of vitamin E forms, for a full range of vitamin activity and protection. But for decades, most vitamin E supplements have contained just one form, d-alpha-tocopherol, based on the fact that this form is the most abundant in the blood and most body tissues. More recent research has shown that the other forms of vitamin E  have their own distinct benefits that don’t apply to a-alpha-tocopherol, including protection from breast cancer according to a recent study.

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Vitamin E's benefits are a matter of balance, which most vitamin E supplements don't provide.

Vitamin E is a supplement category that really hasn’t caught up to the latest research, as we discussed in this blog post from January. As we explained then, vitamin E isn’t one compound but a family of eight compounds, 4 tocopherols and 4 tocopherols, each with specific and unique roles to play.  However, most vitamin E supplements only contain one form, alpha tocopherol.  The best vitamin E’s are those few that contain all eight compounds, but these remain a stubbornly small portion of the vitamin E supplement market. Customers and brands alike may not like the higher prices of full-spectrum vitamin E’s, but there’s growing evidence of their superiority. A soon-to-be published study highlights adds more evidence for a special, protective role of gamma and the other tocopherols, all of which are definitely lacking in most vitamin E supplements and multis. (more…)

Vitamin E has taken some heat in the mainstream press.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’ve always taken vitamin E because there’s a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it’s beneficial.  But in the last few years I’ve come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn’t help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements.  So what’s the story?

Thanks,

Mike W.

Novato, CA

Dear Mike,

Once upon a time, the type of vitamin E supplement in question wouldn’t have mattered because they were all the same. At this point in time, however, it really depends on what kind of vitamin E supplement we’re talking about. (more…)