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The Truth About Vitamin E
by author Bernd Rohlf

We seem to believe that vitamin E is "d-alpha tocopherol" and that it is the only constituent in many of today's vitamin E products. (I can't understand why these products are even called vitamin E!)

In nature, vitamin E is found as a composition of eight known vitamin E components (d-alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocopherol, and d-alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocotrienol). This powerful natural orchestra provides you with full concerts, as opposed to an instrumental "solo."

Nature is the very best manufacturer of vitamin E, which is known to protect the unsaturated fatty acids from oxidizing in our bodies. This antioxidant effect is important for our cell membranes, which contain many unsaturated fatty acids. Should these membranes be damaged through oxidation, they would be unable to maintain their biological functions. The consequences usually are faster aging; tissue damaged by ultraviolet light may not be regenerated; cells could mutate; and red blood cells could degenerate faster.

The up-to-eight different chemically bound substances found in natural vitamin E vary in their effectiveness. Science has proven that d-alpha tocotrienol is 40 to 60 times more potent than d-alpha tocopherol for instance, which is primarily used in today's vitamin E products.

Numerous studies have also shown that synthetic vitamin E is less effective and has a significantly lower absorption rate than natural vitamin E.

People most in need of vitamin E are those who consume many saturated fatty acids and those who are exposed to heavy environmental toxins. Smokers and people who suffer from rheumatism also need to supplement with vitamin E (an increased amount of vitamin E is constantly needed to eliminate damaging substances).

The good news is that natural vitamin E products that contain all of the eight naturally occurring forms are available today. When buying your next vitamin E product, look for one made from concentrated oil from a special barley grain. Barley is known to be one of the richest sources of natural vitamin E, and unlike isolated or synthetically manufactured vitamin E, all of the eight various forms are kept in their natural composition to provide you with optimum potency.

Bernd Rohlf is a German naturopath and naturotherapist in Waterloo, ON.

Source: alive #228, October 2001

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