Vitamin E
Al Sears, MD September 30, 2010
11903 Southern Blvd., Ste. 208
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
I see a lot of reports and read a lot of studies on vitamin E. You may have, too.
Like the study where researchers gave athletes only 200 mg of vitamin E for only 21
days and concluded that vitamin E has no cardiopulmonary benefit.1
Or how about the group of researchers who looked at 11 high-dose vitamin E studies
and concluded that the more vitamin E you take, the greater your risk of dying? 2
Another you may have heard of is the lung cancer study where researchers found
multivitamins, vitamins C, E and folate don’t reduce lung cancer risk. But that vitamin E
may increase your risk.3
If you conclude from this that researchers are out to get vitamin E, I wouldn’t blame
you.
I’ve also heard various interpretations and misinterpretations of these studies. You might
have seen them on the six o’clock news and in your newspaper. Vitamin E has been
found to be worthless... vitamin E has not reduced the risk of cancer…
I see these things on TV, too, so I looked a little bit deeper...
What all those scientists aren’t telling you is that their results are mostly taken from a
test tube. They’re generally not testing the effects in people who take vitamin E. And
even if they are, these studies only test a synthetic and unnatural form of vitamin E, the
dl-alpha tocopherol.
But the story is a little more complicated, and a whole lot more interesting. There are
actually eight forms of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. They’re all
antioxidants, and each has its own unique health properties.
The problem is, not only is dl-alpha tocopherol not natural when you take it in that form,
it’s also the tocopherol with the least heart benefit. And, when you take too much of it,
you cause a decreased absorption of gamma-tocopherol. Gamma has been shown to
have a lot of benefit for your heart and blood vessels.
Not only that, but tocotrienols have benefits that tocopherols don’t have. And you can’t
get any of them from synthetic vitamin E.
Tocotrienols help:
Maintain cholesterol in its healthy form
Keep triglycerides at a healthy level
Support normal blood pressure levels
Tocotrienols also have two advantages over tocopherols. They move fast, and penetrate
the fatty outer layer of a cell membrane and “attack” a cholesterol-creating enzyme
called HMG-CoA.4 This helps reduce cholesterol oxidation and helps promote normal
cholesterol levels.
Tocotrienols also work in your blood in other ways. A new study by researchers looking
to help people’s brains shows that tocotrienols in natural vitamin E supplements build up
inside the blood to help support brain health.5
What this means for you is that you need this important form of vitamin E to support
normal, natural heart and blood function.
So, how do you get heart-healthy vitamin E that contains tocotrienols?
You can find high concentrations of tocotrienols in oils like palm, coconut and wheat
germ. You should be able to pick these up at a health food store or specialty grocer.
Keep in mind that soybean oil and sunflower oil have NO tocotrienols.
Personally, my favorite oil is annatto. I first encountered it in the Andes Mountains. After
you ascend the Andes from the east and start down into the Amazon basin, annatto
grows in the foothills before you get to the dense rainforest.
The natives there recognize annatto as a powerful health tonic, and even use it as a dye.
This is because annatto has compounds with a unique reddish-orange color that are
chemically similar to beta-carotene – which gives carrots their color.
So, it’s not surprising that beta-carotene-filled foods like cranberries and carrots have
tocotrienols, too.
Almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds also are great sources of tocotrienols.
But chances are, you’re not eating enough nuts, fruit and seeds every day to get the
forms of vitamin E your body needs.
My research team and I decided to make it easier for you to take care of your heart. We
included tocotrienols in our most-talked-about formula, Accel.
Now you can get unparalleled heart support.
Not only does Accel have the ubiquinol form of CoQ10 – a heart powerhouse all on its
own – but it also has the power of tocotrienols.
Plus, there’s one more thing. Combining this ubiquinol form of CoQ10 with tocotrienols
keeps the tocotrienols active in your system for a longer period than just taking them
alone. So the benefits to your heart are that much greater.
I recommend most of my patients take Accel. And I never skip a day either.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD