Posts Tagged ‘tocopherol’

Vitamin E is a supplement category that really hasn’t caught up to the latest research, as we discussed in this blog post from January. As we explained then, vitamin E isn’t one compound but a family of eight compounds, 4 tocopherols and 4 tocopherols, each with specific and unique roles to play. However, most vitamin E supplements only contain one form, alpha tocopherol. The best vitamin E’s are those few that contain all eight compounds, but these remain a stubbornly small portion of the vitamin E supplement market. Customers and brands alike may not like the higher prices of full-spectrum vitamin E’s, but there’s growing evidence of their superiority. A soon-to-be published study adds more evidence for a special, protective role of gamma and the other tocopherols, all of which are definitely lacking in most vitamin E supplements and multis.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’ve always taken vitamin E because there’s a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it’s beneficial. But in the last few years I’ve come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn’t help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements. So what’s the story?