Tocotrienols and Vitamin E :: Food and Nutrition :: Vitamins

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Tocotrienols and Vitamin E
by author Tom Valentine

Virtually everyone has heard of vitamin E, yet few know much about it. For instance, there are eight fractions of vitamin E–four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. What most people think of as vitamin E is really alpha tocopherol, which is just one-eighth of what we need. Someday we will understand vitamin E, tocopherols and tocotrienols as separate entities, in much the same way as we think of the B-complex of vitamins, or vitamin A and beta carotene.

Some vitamin E researchers believe that there is already enough evidence to justify taking tocopherol and tocotrienol supplements, not only for their known arterial health usefulness, but also for potential anticancer and antioxidant benefits. Dr Andreas Pappas, author of The Vitamin E Factor, notes that it is important to take products "that contain a mixture of tocotrienols (and tocopherols) to assure the full spectrum of benefits."

One particular study of 50 patients showed that tocotrienols significantly improved their arteriosclerosis. The participants took six capsules a day for a total of 324 milligrams of mixed tocotrienols. After six months, 24 percent had an improvement of the abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel or heart valve and after two years, 32 percent had the same result. None of the control group receiving a placebo showed any regression. In fact, 44 percent of the control group experienced a worsening of the condition.

The researchers point out that it is not a "mega" study, meaning it involved a small number of subjects. Only until mega studies repeat the performance of this study can it be considered "valid" by the medical establishment.

The richer sources, such as palm and palm oil products, are not widely consumed in North America. Residents of the Asian Pacific Rim eat high levels of palm oil and have very low incidence of breast cancer. Also, cardiovascular disease rates are not significant among this same group, suggesting that the so-called "bad" tropical oils aren't so bad after all, as long as the vital nutrients like vitamin E and other protective compounds and antioxidants are still present in the oils.

Palm oil, however, is not pleasing to the North American palate. It is red in color and has an unappealing odor, so palm oil sold in the US is refined. Unfortunately, refining removes the oil's protective properties. In other words, foods which purport to have palm oil probably lack palm tocotrienols. Better sources in North America include barley, oats, rye and whole grain brown rice.

Tom Valentine produces the newslettgnTrue Health, published quarterly by Carotec, Inc

Source: alive #214, August 2000

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