Negative Reports on Vitamin E: What Researchers Did Wrong
If you are disappointed, confused or just plain scared by the recent headlines about vitamin E, you have every right to be and you are not alone. The headlines suggested that vitamin E does not help people with cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer’s, and worse, that it may be harmful at high levels. All the good news about the health benefits of vitamin E in elderly women from the HOPE study, diabetes, kidney disease seemed obliterated by this wave of new information.
A few years ago vitamin E was flying high; vitamin C and vitamin E were by far the most popular single nutrient supplements. Study after study proclaimed its many benefits. Especially convincing were very large epidemiological studies indicating that people taking higher levels of vitamin E had a lower risk for conditions like heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s, just to name a few.
So what went wrong? Why did a series of clinical trials and reports, known as meta-analysis studies, fail to confirm the expected health benefits of vitamin E?
First, let me say that many experts take issue with the design of these types of clinical studies, and the many limitations of meta-analysis. But specifically, why did these studies of vitamin E not show any benefit? Why should anybody take vitamin E?
All of the clinical studies showing no benefit were run with alpha-tocopherol only. So what is wrong with this? A lot. Unlike some vitamins, which consist of a single compound, vitamin E consists of eight different compounds, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols (designated as alpha, beta, gamma and delta). Our food contains all eight compounds. Actually in our diet we get more of the gamma-tocopherol than the alpha.
Alpha-tocopherol was thought to be the only important form from the family of eight compounds. Most supplements contain only alpha-tocopherol. The current research proves that using just one type of vitamin E is wrong. Even more important, it is counterproductive because supplements of alpha-tocopherol alone deplete almost completely the levels of the other tocopherols and tocotrienols in our blood and tissues. This has been known for some time and was confirmed conclusively in recent studies. In the past, this major effect was brushed aside because we did not recognize the benefits of the other members of the vitamin E family. We know better now.
These trials created a double whammy; not only did the supplement not provide the complete vitamin E family of tocopherols plus tocotrienols, but it also prevented the benefit of any amount taken in the diet.
So what are the benefits of these other forms of vitamin E?
- Gamma-tocopherol, the more abundant form in our diet, fights nitrogen radicals, a particularly vicious form of harmful molecules that contribute to inflammation. Inflammation is now recognized as a major factor contributing to chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and arthritis.
- High levels of gamma-tocopherol in the blood have been associated with lower incidence of prostate cancer.
- Tocotrienols and, in particular, gamma tocotrienol act on a specific enzyme called 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) involved in production in the liver of LDL, the bad cholesterol.
- Tocotrienols and delta-tocopherol show great promise in preventing some forms of cancer especially breast cancer.
- Tocotrienols and gamma-tocopherol show promise for neuroprotective effects.
How strong is the evidence? I am sure that you may be wondering whether I changed my views regarding vitamin E to fit the latest findings. The answer is no, and here is the proof. The main theme of my book, The Vitamin E Factor is: Vitamin E is a family of four tocopherols plus four tocotrienols. Only the complete vitamin E family provides the full benefit. This is now the new and emerging scientific consensus. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are supporting major research studies with gamma-tocopherol and tocotrienols.
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: The evidence supporting the benefits and the safety of the correct form of vitamin E far outweigh any doubts from the recent studies using the wrong form. As the master antioxidant, vitamin E is a key nutrient for health and wellness. The best vitamin E products contain all eight members of the vitamin E family — tocopherols plus tocotrienols — in their natural unesterified form. Only the complete family provides the full benefit and most likely the highest degree of safety.
