Vitamin E
is an antioxidant derived from plants. It is actually a family of nutrients
that includes tocopherol and tocotrienols, each with their own subfamilies
of alpha, beta, gamma and delta substances. Unless your brand contains
the full spectrum of these nutrients, you are not getting the full benefits
of vitamin E.
The fact is most commercial vitamin
E supplements do not contain the gamma form of the vitamin, depriving
you of the full range of its antioxidant effects. The vitamin E you buy
at the local pharmacy is mostly alpha tocopherol. The full complement
of tocopherol and tocotrienols, which include alpha, beta, delta and gamma
for both, is what’s needed for full protection.
The Life Extension Foundation offers pharmaceutical, high grade Vitamin
E supplements.
Vitamin E compounds are usually produced and made available in esterified form as alpha tocopheryl acetate or alpha tocopheryl succinate. Neither of these forms has any antioxidant activity until converted to alpha tocopherol in the body, but they are much more stable with respect to storage time and temperature than the unesterified forms. Moreover, while the acetate form is rapidly activated within the body, activation of the succinate form is slower. The succinate form appears to access and benefit areas of the tissues that are unavailable to the other forms. For this reason, there is a tendency to regard alpha tocopherol succinate (VES) as a distinctly different and beneficial compound. VES appears to have longer half-life in the body, less effect on blood clotting, and does not interfere with vitamin A and K absorption. It is also more beneficial for cancer therapy according to several published studies.
Serious vitamin takers prefer cold-water dispersible dry powder vitamin E supplements in the form of alpha tocopheryl succinate or acetate because the cold-water dispersible forms are efficiently absorbed even when taken on an empty stomach or with a low-fat meal. The non-cold water dispersible (oil) forms of vitamin E may be poorly absorbed unless taken with several grams of fats or oils.
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