Some vitamins consist of a single compound. Other vitamins consist of more than one compounds but the body converts the others to a single form. For example our body converts beta-carotene to vitamin A. Not so for vitamin E!

Eight different compounds, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols make up the vitamin E family. Our food contains all eight compounds. Not so most vitamin E supplements! They contain only alpha-tocopherol.

First the tocopherols: Their first names are the four letters of the Greek alphabet:

alpha-tocopherol

beta-tocopherol

gamma-tocopherol

delta-tocopherol.

Tocotrienols also have the same Greek first names.

alpha-tocotrienol

beta-tocotrienol

gamma-tocotrienol

delta-tocotrienol.

Are the differences of the eight members of the vitamin E family a big deal? Real big deal. The eight members of the vitamin E family have some functions that are similar and other functions that are completely different. The team works better than the alpha-tocopherol alone because it provides the full spectrum of benefits.

Vitamin E is an indispensable member of the body's antioxidant system. But that's not all. Vitamin E has other functions, some completely unrelated to its role as an antioxidant. The advantage of using the whole family of vitamin E compounds is one of the main themes of The vitamin E Factor book. They are discussed in many of the chapters.. Here is a sampling of the evidence:

• Scientists are finding that tocotrienols slow down a liver enzyme that plays a key role in the synthesis of cholesterol. Tocopherols have no such effect!

• A clinical study in humans indicates that a mixture of tocopherols and tocotrienols not only slowed down narrowing of carotid arteries but in forty percent of the patients appeared to reverse the condition!

• Gamma-tocopherol, not alpha, is the effective form for fighting nitrogen radicals. These radicals are major culprits in arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS) and diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's.

• A metabolic product of gamma-tocopherol, code-named LLU-alpha, appeared to be a natriuretic factor (the secret code LLU is for Loma Linda University - the site of this research.) This factor, probably as part of a system, may affect how much fluid and electrolytes pass through the kidney to the urine. As such, it could play a major role for blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. The corresponding metabolite of alpha-tocopherol was not active!

The IU does not tell you whether you are getting the vitamin E team. And it does not tell you whether the alpha-tocopherol is natural or synthetic or whether it is esterified.

Ask how much vitamin E your friends take. If they do take vitamin E supplements they will have a quick answer! I take 400 IU or I take 100 IU etc. Most vitamin E products are sold on this basis.

IU was meant to be the vitamin E currency. That would bring on the same basis all forms whether natural d-alpha-tocopherol or synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol or their acetate or succinate esters. Unfortunately, it was born when it was thought that alpha-tocopherol was all of vitamin E.

How good a reading it is? Very poor, to put it mildly. There is a lot that the IU does not tell us. Specifically, the IU does not tell us whether:

1. The product has tocopherols other than alpha-tocopherol or tocotrienols.

2. The alpha-tocopherol is natural or synthetic.

3. The alpha-tocopherol is esterified.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council scrapped the IU and replaced it with the alpha-tocopherol equivalent (alpha-TE). One alpha-TE is one milligram of natural d-alpha-tocopherol. In contrast IU is one milligram of synthetic dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. It also allowed credit for beta and gamma-tocopherols and alpha-tocotrienols for foods only, not supplements. More details are available in APPENDIX of The vitamin E Factor book.

Old habits die very hard. The IU is still the industry standard in the United States and many other countries. It will not go away any time soon. The alpha-TE on the label does not tell us much more than the IU. For this reason we have to read the label more carefully to find if it is natural or synthetic, ester or no ester or whether all the members of the vitamin E team are in there.

Being able to record the exact amounts of compounds in a mixture rather than using the vague term "vitamin E activity" has clear advantages. -Dr. Lester Packer, Scientific American March/April 1994

For all the evidence please see chapter 2 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

Getting over the emotional part: Most vitamins are produced as synthetic. Except for what is in our food most of the vitamins used to make nutritional supplements (capsules, tablets, etc.) are synthetic. Ditto for those used to fortify our cereals, milk, and other foods. Is there anything wrong with that? For most vitamins NO. The synthetic molecules look and behave exactly the same as the ones present in our food.

Not so for alpha-tocopherol.

There is difference in the molecule

There is difference in its potency

There is difference how it behaves in our body

There is major difference how it goes from the mother to the baby in the womb

The real difference is higher than we thought before

The crux of the difference: The d-alpha-tocopherol in our food, the natural form, is a single entity (all molecules are identical). In contrast, the synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol is a mixture of eight different molecular entities known in the chemical jargon as stereoisomers. Of these eight, only one is identical to the natural form. The other seven do not exist in nature.

Is this a big deal? It can be very big deal!

An example: You may have heard about amino acids. They are the building blocks of protein. Amino acids are used for intravenous feeding of patients and in nutritional products for some patients and for body builders. Some amino acids can be made in two forms identical in size and every other respect, except one form is mirror image of the other. Our body recognizes and uses only one form. The other form is not used at all and it can be harmful.

Fortunately for alpha-tocopherol things are not as gloomy. Synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol is not harmful. But its value to our body is only half of the natural. Even less for feeding the baby in the mother's womb. The evidence is very new and strong!

For all the evidence please see chapter 4 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

Alpha tocopherol is esterified to make it stable. Also to produce powder forms (instead of oil). When it is OK to use and when to avoid

In the chemical parlance ester is the chemical union of an alcohol and an acid. Alpha-tocopherol is an alcohol. It is esterified with the acids acetate, succinate, linoleate and nicotinate.

ESTERS MAKE ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL STABLE PLUS

Stability is the first objective. The tocopherols and tocotrienols are present in nature in our foods and our body as the free non-esterified form (also called free alcohol form). That means that their active antioxidant group is free and can fight free radicals.

We want, however, vitamin E to fight the free radicals in our body if we take it as a nutritional supplement or with our cereals. We want it to work on our skin if is in a cosmetic or skin care product. We definitely do not want it to get destroyed while it sits in the container or on the shelf as a tablet, a capsule, in the cereal box or in the skin care products.

Stability, plus... What is the plus? The natural forms of vitamin E are all oils. The succinate ester of the natu-ral d-alpha-tocopherol is a nice white powder, great for making tablets. Of course the oils can be formulated in dry form but that dilutes their concentration and it takes more valuable space in the tablet.

For all the details please see chapter 3 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

We do not make vitamin E in our body, nor do animals. We have to get our vitamin E from our food or from supplements. Science also tells us that we need to take much higher levels than the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) to get its full benefits. Because vitamin E is fat-soluble, it is generally found in fat-rich foods. Can we get enough vitamin E from our food without gulping thousands of fat calories? Can it be done and which foods we should choose? That's the challenge!

Plants make vitamin E and supply both animals and humans. Of course we get vitamin E from meat and fish but the original source is plants (and other primitive forms of life - algae, microorganisms, etc.)

Fruits and vegetables contain little vitamin E. Most meat, fish, dairy and animal products are also rather poor sources of vitamin E. Farm animals and most of the fish we eat get vitamin E from their food. So, the amount in their body depends, in large part, to what they eat.

So where is vitamin E? The best sources are fat-rich foods from plants. Some low fat foods like legume seeds and grains supply lower but yet reasonable amounts of vitamin E.

Vitamin E rich foods fall in four groups:

1. Vegetable oils. Soy, corn, sunflower, canola, cottonseed, peanut, rice bran, sesame, and palm oils.

2. Nuts like almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts.

3. Oil seeds, legumes and grains. Corn, soy, northern beans, lentils, chickpeas, barley, rice, wheat and oats fall in this group.

4. Wheat germ oil. This is not your average cooking or salad oil. Extracted from the germ of wheat it has been used since the 1920s as a vitamin E supplement. It packs 233 IU and 254 milligrams of total tocopherols plus tocotrienols. Forty-five grams of it take care of the 100/100 system.

For all the details please see chapter 23 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

The new paradigm: Take the level that promotes good health and prevents and treats disease.

For vitamin E is much higher. The evidence is discussed throughout The Vitamin E Factor book.

Here is part of the critical evidence and where to find it in The Vitamin E Factor book:

• Heart disease (Chapters 11 and 12): Epidemiological studies showed that 100 IU per day or more was needed to see the response. Clinical studies in progress use levels 300-400 IU.

• LDL oxidation (Chapter 10): best results were with 400 IU.

• Aging (Chapter 19): The most effective level for boosting the immune system of the elderly was 200 IU.

• Cancer (Chapter 13): In the Finnish study 50 IU reduced prostate cancer.

• Alzheimer's (Chapter 16): The daily dose used was 2,000 IU.

Are the experts unanimous on this? NOT. We are, however, closer to a consensus than for any other nutrient. Even vocal opponents of supplements agree: we need much more that we can get from our diet.

• If you want to wait for more studies before you are convinced that you need much more vitamin E that what you can get even from a well balanced diet

• If you are plain opposed to taking supplements of any kind

• If you are convinced that you want lots of extra vitamin E but only from food

• Your choice is straightforward. You need to include in your diet foods rich in vitamin E. For more details please read chapter 23 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

For all the details please see chapter 24 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

Cystic fibrosis, cholestasis, abetalipoproteinemia, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, familial isolated vitamin E deficiency. Apart from strange and tongue twisting names these diseases do have one more thing in common. They all cause deficiency of vitamin E. In many cases extremely serious and life threatening.

Each of these diseases causes vitamin E deficiency by a different mechanism. It is for this reason that a custom strategy is required for each disease to correct the deficiency!

TPGS (d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol-1000 succinate) has different properties than d-alpha-tocopherol. TPGS is a waxy solid and melts when heated. But what makes it unique, is its ability to dissolve in water. In contrast, other forms of vitamin E are insoluble in water.

TPGS forms its own micelles and can be absorbed by malabsorbers. In water, its molecule coils itself with the polyethylene glycol part that is miscible in water (hydrophilic) on the outside and the non-miscible (hydrophobic) on the inside. This is the way that micelles work! They traverse easily in the water and carry inside them the fat-soluble compounds.

TPGS is not for everybody. TPGS is for people that absorb poorly the regular forms of vitamin E. And from those only when the problem arises from lack of sufficient micelles or when there is a serious inflammation of the gut. Normal, healthy adults do not need TPGS.

The dose recommendations in The Vitamin E Factor book are only very general guidelines based on the available scientific literature! Your physician will monitor your status and adjust the dose as appropriate. For all the details please see chapter 7 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

Aging, exercise, pregnancy, menopause, premenstrual syndrome and other conditions create special needs and vitamin E can help! If you or a loved one suffer from chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis, AIDS and others or your family history, age, and lifestyle put you at high risk please for these diseases, vitamin E can help. Because for each condition and for each disease there are many important considerations, it would be difficult to discuss these considerations here. If you wish to learn more please read the appropriate chapters of The Vitamin E Factor book or drop me a line... For your convenience, the appropriate chapters are listed below.

• AIDS please go to chapter 17

• Arthritis and autoimmune diseases 18

• Cancer please go to chapter 13

• Cataracts and eye diseases please go to chapter 15

• Diabetes please go to chapter 14

• Heart disease please go to chapters 11 & 12

• Neurological diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, Lou Goering's Disease, Tardive dyskinesia)go to chapter 15

• Poor absorption due to diet, liver damage, diseases and medications, please go to chapter 6

• Poor absorption causing diseases (cholestasis, cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis) please go to chapter7

If you belong to one of the groups below or face special conditions, please find specific recommendations in the respective chapters:

• Athletes or people doing strenuous physical work please go to chapter 20

• Babies please go to chapter 21

• Elderly please go to chapter 19

• Pregnant or post-mernopausal women and for PMS and fertility please go to chapter 21

For skin care and cosmetic products please go to chapter 22

Chances are that you bought a lotion, skin cream, sunscreen or other cosmetic product with vitamin E. Many upscale cosmetic products, even soaps, contain vitamin E and the manufacturers want you to know about it! What you do not know is that most cosmetic products contain the wrong form of vitamin E! That's what Professor Liebler is concerned about!

The form of vitamin E makes the difference between getting the full benefit and getting little or no benefit. This is a case of getting some benefit but missing most of it including the protection from cancer! This is a great pity because skin health is one of the top reasons why people use vitamin E! Their expectation is very well founded - vitamin E can do a lot for the skin. Not only for slowing down its aging but also for helping prevent some skin cancers! The evidence is strong and the benefits worth the extra effort to find the right products. Here is how vitamin E team protects the skin:

• Delays the aging of the skin and may help reverse part of the damage

• Helps protect from skin cancer

• Protects the immune defenses of the skin

• Protects skin from damage from ozone and pollutants

• Functions as a sunscreen.

. WHICH IS THE RIGHT FORM TO USE?

The short answer: Products containing tocopherols and tocotrienols in their natural non-esterified form. Here is the long explanation.

Muzzled vitamin E cannot help on the skin: Most skin products contain the muzzled synthetic dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (the active antioxidant group is blocked and cannot function). Some contain other esterified forms such as d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, or dl-alpha-tocopheryl linoleate. Muzzled vitamin E, whether natural or synthetic does not help. Is the muzzle removed when vitamin E penetrates into the skin? Unfortunately not! A small, amount of free alpha-tocopherol is released. But the bulk of it remains muzzled. That means missing most of the benefit!

NOTE: We are concerned about alpha-tocopherol esters only because the other tocopherols and tocotrienols are not available as esters.

For all the details please see chapter 22 of The Vitamin E Factor book.

Having worked in the same company and, during the last few years, in the same building as Andreas it was hard not to believe that natural vitamin E is good for you. I even knew that d-alpha stands for the natural form. It took, however, an explosion and fire to make me an avid believer.

In September of 1994, I was severely burned. Forty five percent of my body had second and third degree burns. The intensity of the heat was so severe that my ear lobs burst from the heat. I spent the next 35 days in a burn unit going through continuous removal of debris, pain and depression.

When I left the burn unit, I was told that if I did not wear burn garments on my hands, arms and shoulder, the scars would continue to develop into ugly masses. The garments were tight and painful. The skin remained very dry, and was often breaking with the slightest of movement. Itching was so intense - it was driving me crazy. I chose to wear only the gloves and not worry about the scars on my arms and shoulder.

I guess that we all have a little vanity in how we look. Some of this vanity was left in me despite my suffering. I began thinking about some of the things that I had heard about vitamin E. I met with my doctor and my pharmacist and asked if they could come up with a lotion that was ultra high in concentrations of natural d-alpha tocopherol, with some type of carrier to take it into the skin (vitamin E did not seem to penetrate the skin very fast

They did prepare a lotion for me and I used the lotion everywhere I was burned except my hands where I was wearing the burn gloves. I used the lotion 3-4 times every day for a year. Most of the itching went away. Then I began to notice some of the scars were decreasing in size. Some disappeared completely.

Today when I meet people and tell them about my second and third degree burns, they have a hard time believing that I was burned that bad. There are no scars on my face, and almost none on my arms. Only my hands where I wore the gloves show significant scarring.

I firmly believe that the addition of the d-alpha-tocopherol shortly after leaving the burn unit, is the reason that the scars have disappeared. As a true believer, I find it sad that the medical community is not recommending the use of vitamin E for burn victims, especially the young children.