Not all E's are E-qual

[Guest guest]

Please bear in mind when reading this study that it was funded and

collaborated by General Mills:

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A new study has found that cereal fortified with vitamin E has a very

high rate of absorption into the bloodstream, whereas pills taken

separately with the same food have inconsistent effects, and taking

the supplements alone is largely useless.

The research was just published in the American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition by scientists from the Linus ing Institute at Oregon

State University.

The study points the way to more effective methods of taking this

essential vitamin if people wish to supplement their diet, said Maret

Traber, a professor with OSU's Linus ing Institute and national

expert on vitamin E who recently served on federal panels to update

the RDA for this vitamin.

As an antioxidant, vitamin E is one of the most commonly taken

vitamin supplements in the world and included in virtually every

multivitamin pill.

The research may explain, Traber said, why many past research studies

done with vitamin E have varied findings. It's quite possible, she

said, that the manner in which people took vitamin E supplements and

the variation in its bioavailability from person to person have

yielded widely inconsistent results about the value of this nutrient

in heart disease and other degenerative diseases.

It may also be time to consider routine fortification of more foods

with this vitamin, Traber said.

" For good reasons, Americans are increasingly moving towards low-fat

diets, " Traber said. " But average low-fat diets provide only about 5-8

international units a day of vitamin E. The recommended dietary

allowance of vitamin E is 30 I.U. and it's possible that higher

amounts than that are useful for optimal health. So we have to find

ways to make sure everyone is getting enough of this nutrient. "

A glitch, the researchers say, is that vitamin E is an oil, and people

are now being told to use oils very sparingly. It can be found in

nuts, oily fish, some vegetables and oils such as safflower, olive

and canola oil. The most common way that people get vitamin E is

through rich desserts and cooking oils.

" If people are getting all the vitamin E they need through a healthy,

balanced diet, that's great, " Traber said. " But we really don't want

to be telling people to eat more fat, and that's generally where

vitamin E is found. That's why it's appealing to find an effective

way of obtaining this nutrient, such as vitamin E fortification of

what is essentially a low-fat food. "

This controlled study was done by LPI scientists, funded by and in

collaboration with the Bell Nutrition Institute of General Mills.

In it, scientists tested the results of four different types of

breakfasts: a pill of 400 I.U. of vitamin E with skim milk; a serving

of a wheat breakfast cereal fortified with 30 I.U. of vitamin E; a

serving of wheat breakfast cereal fortified with 400 I.U. of vitamin

E; and a serving of wheat breakfast cereal with a pill of 400 I.U.

vitamin E taken separately.

The pill of 400 I.U. vitamin E taken with just a glass of milk, in

theory should have provided more than 13 times the RDA of this

nutrient. But, in fact, it raised the level of new vitamin E in the

blood by only 3 percent. By comparison, the cereal fortified with 30

I.U. vitamin E raised the blood plasma level of new vitamin E five

times higher than that, and the cereal fortified with 400 I.U. raised

the new blood plasma level 30 times higher.

The effect of a pill of 400 I.U. taken with a serving of plain wheat

cereal was inconsistent; some participants had a significant increase

in blood plasma levels of vitamin E, others almost none.

" This study clearly showed that applying vitamin E onto a grain

cereal provided a huge and consistent increase in its

bioavailability, " said Leonard, an LPI research assistant who

conducted the study. " Even 30 I.U., the RDA for this vitamin,

produced a large increase in new blood plasma levels. "

According to Traber and Leonard, this indicates that people who are

taking vitamin E supplements only with liquids on an empty stomach are

accomplishing nothing and getting few if any benefits from the

supplements. The vitamin clearly is absorbed better if it is part of,

or closely associated with the digestion of a food that has some fat

in it.

Vitamin E has been explored in recent years for its potential value

in prevention of heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other

health concerns. The results of this study may explain in part why

the other research has often yielded inconsistent results, Traber

said.

" It's now clear that vitamin E must be taken in a certain way to be

effective, either in a food containing vitamin E or in a supplement

properly associated with a food, " Traber said. " So anyone studying

vitamin E for a clinical response must now be sure they are using it

in a regimen that works. "

It may also be time to consider the expansion of vitamin E as a

routine food additive, she said.

" In our pursuit of low-fat diets, we increasingly are taking the fat

out of foods but not putting the vitamin E back, " Traber said.