Mighty Vitamin E: Its Eight Components Offer a Range of Healing Benefits

It took scientists years after the discovery of vitamin E in 1922 to figure out what it did. At first, two teams of researchers, one from the University of California at Berkeley and the other from the University of Arkansas, believed the vitamin was essential for reproductive function. The UC scientists had found that the diet they were feeding female laboratory rats didn’t support normal pregnancy, while the Arkansas team had discovered that a similar diet was missing something that resulted in sterility in male rats. As often happens in science, the two groups collaborated and identified the missing nutrient as a fat-soluble factor with vitamin-like properties.

This missing factor was named E because it was the next vitamin to be discovered after vitamin D. The new vitamin, which was added to rat chow, subsequently prevented miscarriage and sterility. Not surprisingly, E was first touted as the “sex” vitamin.

It’s taken decades to determine how vitamin E functions and what human diseases it might prevent. Its antioxidant properties were shown to help protect against heart disease, while researchers at Tufts University found that E was critical to immune support and for preventing cataracts and other vision problems. The National Cancer Institute investigated E’s cancer-fighting powers, and Swiss researchers discovered that certain components of this vitamin had important functions beyond their antioxidant powers.

Eight Amazing Es
Vitamin E is actually a generic term for a family of eight related compounds (isomers) including tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). However, only alpha tocopherol is used for measuring vitamin activity, and this is designated in international units (IU). The stated label supplement claims for vitamin E activity, therefore, refer only to alpha tocopherol, regardless of which other tocopherols the product contains.

In the past few years, research has found that the other tocopherols and tocotrienols exhibit biological activity that is distinct from that of alpha tocopherol. Consequently, most vitamin E preparations contain the other tocopherol isomers.

Each new discovery adds to the reputation of mighty E, which Americans take to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. Or at least they did before the media fallout in November 2004.

The Vitamin E Controversy
A paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association and later published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggested that doses of vitamin E above 400 IU/day might actually increase the risk of dying. This research took the medical community by surprise and obviously caused real concern among consumers. In fact, a poll commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau revealed that among 1,051 adults, 18 percent were less likely to take the vitamin after reading about this study. However, the same poll also found that Americans believe in the benefits of vitamins and E in particular.

The response from the scientific community was swift. Top nutritionists and researchers quickly pointed out that this research, a meta-analysis of 19 published studies, was badly flawed and inconclusive. Ten of the studies in this review involved people who already had serious chronic diseases or were at high risk for disease, and some investigations involved too few people to be meaningful. Some of the studies also reported inconsistent results. Nevertheless, the meta-analysis lumped together all research that used some form of vitamin E.

The researchers themselves reported that their analysis was, at best, an estimate. Fortunately, a subsequent survey of the literature by scientists at the Council for Responsible Nutrition in Washington, DC, demonstrated that vitamin E—up to 1,600 IU per day—is safe.

Supplement Guidelines
To gain the greatest benefits from vitamin E, choose a supplement that contains at least 200 IU of mixed tocopherols (oil form) and 100 IU of mixed tocotrienols. It’s preferable to biobalance tocopherols and tocotrienols, reflecting the ratios found naturally in the bloodstream.

Finally, there is an important distinction between natural and synthetic vitamin E. Natural vitamin E, labeled d-alpha tocopherol, has greater biological activity than synthetic E, which is labeled dl-alpha tocopherol.

E’s Preventive Powers
Here are some of the latest findings on the many protective activities of vitamin E and its components:

• Taking vitamin E may reduce risk of Type 2 diabetes.
• E supplements appear to prevent metastasis of prostate cancer.
• Gamma tocopherol and alpha tocopherol (along with selenium) help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
• Supplementation with vitamin E (and C) may have a protective effect against stroke.
• Tocotrienols reduce the effects of aging, including lowering cholesterol, preventing platelet adhesion, and suppressing tumor cell growth.
• Tocotrienols may inhibit estrogen-dependent and independent breast cancer cell growth and stabilize cellular homeostasis in vitro.
• Tocotrienols also appear to slow growth of blood vessels to tumors (a process known as anti-angiogenesis).
• Alpha tocotrienol helps prevent damage to brain and nerves.
• Tocopherol (and beta carotene) levels are lower in people with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Gamma tocotrienol is required for vitamin D metabolism in animals.
• Gamma tocotrienol is more protective against colon cancer than alpha tocopherol.

Selected Sources “Dietary Antioxidant Intake and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes” by J. Montonen et al., Diabetes Care, 2004 “Gamma-Tocotrienol Is Required for Normal Vitamin D Metabolism in Female Rats” by M. Norazlina et al., Indian J Pharmacol, 2005 “Meta-Analysis: High-Dosage Vitamin E Supplementation May Increase All-Cause Mortality” by E. R. Miller, MD, et al., Ann Intern Med, 2005 “Molecular Basis of Vitamin E Action” by S. Khanna et al., J Biol Chem, 10/31/03 “Overreaction to Vitamin E Study Could Cause Increased Health Risk,” Dietary Supplement Information Bureau, 12/2/04 “Tocopherols and the Treatment of Colon Cancer” by W. L. Stone, PhD, et al., Ann NY Acad Sci, 2004 “Tocotrienol-Rich Fraction . . . and Gene Expression in Human Breast Cancer Cells” by K. Nesaretnam et al., Ann NY Acad Sci, 12/04 “Tocotrienols: Constitutional Effects in Aging and Disease” by S. Schaffer et al., J Nutr, 2/05 “Vitamins E and C Are Safe Across a Broad Range of Intakes” by J. N. Hathcock et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 4/05