Health Benefits From Another Little Known Vitamin E

Most people want natural vitamin E tocopherol. However, there are actually six vitamin Es. Mother nature produces a number of similar in structure, that act different in biological systems. These are analogues of one another--similar in structure, but slightly to greatly different in its action on biological systems.

Also, in nature, you don't just find a single vitamin E, but they come packaged together, as mixed tocopherols. However, the most biologically active tocopherol was Alpha-Tocopherol and as such, this is what the industry touted most and understandably, what the general populace thus wanted.

Yet, it was always felt that the other tocopherols were important to biological systems also, because this is the way it is always found in nature, as a mixture--even if just for synergistic effect for Alpha Tocophero--some scientific circles feel. The lesser known ones must be important in some way for biological systems too it was felt.

In fact, you spend more money for the single tocopherol, Alpha, than for the mixed variety. But what is generally not know, of the mixed packaged, 60 % of all mixed tocopherols sold, is Alpha.

So by buying the mixed variety, you automatically get Alpha Tocopherol. If you purchase 1000 I.U.s, of mixed, then you are getting 600 I.U.s of Alpha.

Vitamin E is found in a variety of foods which bear oil and in nuts. But this way of getting it may increase one's fat intake when trying to get 400 to 1000 I.U.s of the substance. Supplementation is the next best answer.

Many are puzzled about the conversion factor of I.U.s (International Units) to mgs (miligrams). The relationship is as follows:

Mother nature usually packages the vitamins with Gamma-Tocopherol, one of the six. This vitamin E provides protection from the nitrogen oxides. These are free radical generators that create havoc in biological systems such as heart disease, tumors, aging, and a host of other problems. Outside of biological systems, the nitrogen oxides produce acid rain.

It has now been shown that Gamma-tocopherol protects greatly from nitrogen oxides. Now here is the rub--Alpha-tocopherol largely ignores these compounds.

Inflammation in an organism is triggered by free radicals, such as those generated by the nitrogen oxides. This inflammation then can develope, because of free radical damage, into heart disease, and tumor cells, which may be either benign or cancerous, or both.

Alpha-tocopherol blocks the free radical character that nitrogen oxide produces (peroxynitrite) but does nothing to block the reactive compound left behind that creates the inflamation that cascades in producing heart disease and/or tumor cells. However, Gamma-tocopherol comes into play and blocks this reactive compound.

Alpha-tocopherol is a prime defense agains free radicals formed from oils and lipids in biologicals systems. Because of the large amount of consumption of this vitamin E for such an action against free radical build-up from fatty acid peroxidation (lipid peroxidation), these large amounts of alpha-tocopherol push gamma-tocopherol out of human biological systems.

Both forms should be consumed together. You can get it in a product call Ultra Tocotrienol Complex from Nature's Plus and from Twin Lab called Maxilife Rice Tocotrienols.

Stephen Christen, of the University of California, Berkeley says "gamma-tocopherol may be as important as alpha-tocopherol in the prevention of degenerative diseases." This may be understood to slow-down the progression in various forms of arthritis and alleviate some pain and morbidity associated with this degenerative disease..

One researcher, Robert V. Cooney at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Honolulu says:

"the fact that 75 years after its discovery we still don't understand what vitamin E really does says a lot about the state of this research." This current research in this field "..argues that we need to get our vitamin E from natural sources," not the synthetic variety.

Remember, both forms, alpha- and gamma-tocopherol should be consumed together. If your health food store doesn't carry Ultra Tocotrienol Complex from Nature's Plus or from Twin Lab, Maxilife Rice Tocotrienols, call 1-409-892-5911, Health Food Heaven , and have them send it to you.