Posted by Larry Hoover on November 17, 2004, at 22:40:04
In reply to Is it really this complicated?, posted by Glydin on November 17, 2004, at 19:58:33
>
> I have always taken my Vit E with my midday dose of fish oil. I'm a simple minded folk and I'm confused.Most vitamin E supplements are alpha-tocopherol. Lord knows why they're all that form. Gamma tocopherol is actually more common in nature. If you get a brand that says "mixed tocopherols" or similar, or one that has gamma-tocopherol on the label, then buy that. Alpha-tocopherol, taken as a sole supplement, displaces gamma-tocopherol from its normal sites of activity. That lets one particular kind of oxidative damage go unhindered, and is likely the underlying cause for the slight increase in morbidity that you read about. The displacement of gamma-tocopherol actually takes years to overcome, if it's of long-standing (according to one paper, anyway). So, my cheapo d-,l-alpha-tocopherol acetate from Walmart must be used more sparingly, while I find a good source of gamma-tocopherol to get the balance right.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:417102
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20041108/msgs/417239.html