Guest guest Posted October 30, 2000 Report Share Posted October 30, 2000 Dear Colin, Thanks for that info. It is important to remember that the reason that inflammation is linked to causing cancer is because it inhibits the delivery of oxygen to the cell. This is the missing piece of information that they are not aware of. Best of Health! Dr. Saul Pressman, DCh Vitamin E news > The following e-news item may be of interest: > Highlights of article are printed here for those who may not be able to connect to the site. > Colin Yardley > > http://news.excite.ca/news/uw/001027/health-44 > > > Alternative form of Vitamin E may advance fight against cancer > Updated: Fri, Oct 27 12:00 PM EDT > > > By Bernice Ng > Daily Californian > U. California-Berkeley > > > (U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. -- In a finding that could change the way vitamin supplements are manufactured, a team of University of California-Berkeley biologists has found that a less popular form of vitamin E may play a powerful role in protecting against cancer. > > Vitamin E, or tocopherol, exists in a number of different forms of which alpha-tocopherol is the predominant in tissues and vitamin supplements. Until recently, a more obscure form of the vitamin -- the gamma form -- has been ignored because of its relatively low concentration in animal tissues. > > UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Qing Jiang and a team of scientists, however, have shown that despite its lesser popularity, the gamma form of vitamin E plays a critical role in the defense against cancer and cardiovascular disease by inhibiting the process of inflammation. > > In a study published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists, who conducted their research at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, found that gamma tocopherol plays a more superior role in suppressing inflammation than the alpha form. > > " We found gamma tocopherol and its metabolites, but not alpha, can inhibit prostaglandin production in cells, which means that gamma tocopherol and its metabolites have anti-inflammatory properties, " said Jiang, the principal investigator in the study. > > Studies of chronic inflammation have shown that the protective response in tissues is one of the major contributors to the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease. > > Vitamin E has risen to popularity in recent years due to its ability to defend against free radicals in the body. Scientists have conducted vast amounts of research on the aplha form because of its heralded ability to remove free radicals, which are thought to contribute to the aging process as well as to a number of health problems. > > " Most of the work has been done with alpha tocopherol because it is a very strong electron donating molecule that can scavenger free radicals, " Jiang said. " When a radical reaction starts, it's a chain reaction. The alpha can stop the reaction by scavenging the particles. " > > Free radicals are molecules with an unpaired electron that makes them unstable and highly reactive. They have been described as " loose cannon " molecules because they can collide with other molecules, steal electrons from them and change the structure of these other molecules, causing them to also become free radicals. > > " (Vitamin E) is a potent anti-oxidant and especially useful in maintaining epidermis integrity and connective tissue, " said UC Berkeley molecular and cell biology senior Ilan Elson-Schwab, who worked on the study. > > While both the alpha and gamma forms of vitamin E share similarities in their ability to protect the body against free radicals, the scientists found that the gamma form is much more effective at inhibiting inflammation than the alpha form. > > " Of course the alpha form is very important as well, but it looks like gamma tocopherol is unique, " Jiang said. " It may be important for disease prevention. " In their research, the team of scientists investigated the effects of gamma tocopherol on the inflammatory response in macrophages and human epithelial cells. They found that the molecule inhibited generation of prostaglandins, which are important mediators synthesized during the inflammation process. > > " It's important because inflammation is one of the major contributors to many diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, " Jiang said. > > The anti-inflammatory role of the gamma form makes it an important factor in helping to prevent disease, scientists said. Cancerous human tissues have been found to correspond with increased amounts of and enhanced expression of prostaglandins, which the gamma form was found to inhibit. Inflammation has also been shown to play a significant role in the initiation and development of atherosclerosis. > > In addition to its anti-inflammatory ability, other properties of the gamma form may make it an even more effective agent in scavenging and removing free radicals from the body. The gamma form structure allows it to react and detoxify free radicals such as nitrogen oxide species more efficiently than the alpha form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 Total is a whole grain cereal and whole grains are rich in vit E. How about nuts? Although high in cal, a few a day are excellent for many reasons. Also, I am going to supplement with one or two Vit E pills a week just as extra insurance - expecially for my husband who has Alzheimer's in his family (his mother just passed away with Alzheimers). on 6/26/2002 11:08 AM, Suzanne Cart at massuz@... wrote: > Vitamin E insufficiency has been concerning me anyway, even before I heard the > alzheimer's connection yesterday on the news. According to my Diet Power > software, I'm finding it VERY difficult to get adequate Vitamin E from my > diet, and although I take supplemental E, I intuitively feel it is inferior to > dietary E. > > I have no problem with your daily serving of Total, Francesca. It's just that > most of the nutrition therein is added-in as a supplement...am I right? I'd > love to find something like the one-brazil-nut-selenium-solution, but for > Vitamin E, where we could easily and dependably get our Vitamin E from a > natural source. My nutrition software mentions high calorie sources such as > wheat germ oil and sunflower kernels, and lower down the list are the dark > greens such as chard. Fish can be rich in Vitamin E, but you'd eat 6 oz of > monk fish or salmon (for instance) a day and still come up with less than half > of the bare minimum RDA. All of the mega-sources seem very high in calories. > Any LOW calorie solutions out there? I do eat whole grains, dark greens such > as chard, spinach and kale, and fish, but am still coming up short. I want > more bang for my calorie buck! > > Has anyone figured out a shortcut to natural Vitamin E? Do tell. > Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 Suz, > I'd love to find something like the > one-brazil-nut-selenium-solution, but for > Vitamin E, where we could easily and > dependably get our Vitamin E from a > natural source. Dried apricots? I'm not sure if they are supplemented, but the last time I checked the vitamin E levels were through the roof... Anyone have more specific comments or details? Cheers, ________________________ Gifford Department of English University of Alberta 3-5 Humanities Centre www.ualberta.ca/~gifford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 Don't know how to get Vit E with no calories, but I snack on sunflower seeds, among other things and 100 kCal worth will get you over 100% RDA...(per DWIDP) JR -----Original Message-----From: Suzanne Cart [mailto:massuz@...]Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 10:08 AMCRSocietySupportGroupSubject: [ ] Vitamin E news Vitamin E insufficiency has been concerning me anyway, even before I heard the alzheimer's connection yesterday on the news. According to my Diet Power software, I'm finding it VERY difficult to get adequate Vitamin E from my diet, and although I take supplemental E, I intuitively feel it is inferior to dietary E. I have no problem with your daily serving of Total, Francesca. It's just that most of the nutrition therein is added-in as a supplement...am I right? I'd love to find something like the one-brazil-nut-selenium-solution, but for Vitamin E, where we could easily and dependably get our Vitamin E from a natural source. My nutrition software mentions high calorie sources such as wheat germ oil and sunflower kernels, and lower down the list are the dark greens such as chard. Fish can be rich in Vitamin E, but you'd eat 6 oz of monk fish or salmon (for instance) a day and still come up with less than half of the bare minimum RDA. All of the mega-sources seem very high in calories. Any LOW calorie solutions out there? I do eat whole grains, dark greens such as chard, spinach and kale, and fish, but am still coming up short. I want more bang for my calorie buck! Has anyone figured out a shortcut to natural Vitamin E? Do tell. Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 --- In @y..., " Gifford " <gifford@u...> wrote: > Suz, > > > I'd love to find something like the > > one-brazil-nut-selenium-solution, but for > > Vitamin E, where we could easily and > > dependably get our Vitamin E from a > > natural source. > > Dried apricots? I'm not sure if they are supplemented, but the last time I > checked the vitamin E levels were through the roof... Anyone have more > specific comments or details? > > Cheers, > > ________________________ > Gifford I think you must have A and E confused. Apricots are not especially high in E. I take Yasoo Vitamin E factor 400/400 from yasoohealth.com. This has the good tocotrienols plus a natural mixture of all the forms of E. It knocked my cholesterol down from 175 to 156. The cheap Vitamin E is just one of the various forms and often not the right configuration. Good vitamin E is not cheap. I agree it's hard to get E from a natural low calorie diet. I throw in some almonds and seeds. I put wheat germ on things as well. It has all the E that's in the whole grains and then you skip the gluten and carbs. I don't eat much grain - instead I add in bran and wheat germ - the parts that have all the nutrients. > Department of English > University of Alberta > 3-5 Humanities Centre > www.ualberta.ca/~gifford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 > Don't know how to get Vit E with no calories, but I snack on sunflower > seeds, among other things and 100 kCal worth will get you over 100% > RDA...(per DWIDP) I isn't that hard to get enough vitamin E during the course of a day - but aside from pills it's going to cost you some calories. Most vegetables contain vitamin E, grains such as brown rice contain vitamin E, and most healthy fats contain some vitamin E (About 100 calories of almonds or almond butter has 40% of the RDA. Olive oil also has some, but less, vitamin E). But in my brief search I didn't find much that would easily maximize vitamin E all by itself. How does 3 cups of cooked brocolli sound? It will give you 99% of the RDA for about 130 calories. Or if that's too much brocolli (for your tastes perhaps but not for your health - how about 2 cups of cooked brocolli and 10 almonds -101% of the RDA for around 160 calories - and tasty and doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2002 Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 Vitamin E is fat-soluable so you don't have to have the whole amount every day. Your body can store limited amounts of fat-soluable vitamins for future use unlike the water soluable vitamins where excesses are usually excreted through urine. From Carper's Total Nutrition Guide (I recommend this book for basic information such as this): Foods Rich in Vitamin E: (starts with oils) Coconut Corn Olive Palm Peanut Safflower.... (lists more oils) (other foods) Almonds Cashews Corn, whole Lima beans Margarine (lists various types) Peanuts Rice bran Shortening, soybean Soybeans Sunflower seeds Wheat bran Wheat germ HTH M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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