Vitamin C Forum

These are good points, and my only reason for "conceding" natural vitamin E to the naturalists has to do with the fact that I don't believe the actual vitamin E molecule is known, is it? How do you synthesize something you don't know its exact chemical character?

I had thought the chemical structure of vitamin e was well known and the term "vitamin e" actually represents multiple tocopherols and tocotrienols. I think I read somewhere that dl-alpha-tocopherol is the "synthetic" version because it is the cheapest one to make that has "vitamin e" properties (according to some study or another). I'm pretty sure many if not most of the vitamin e molecules that are known to occur naturally have been synthesized at this point along with who knows how many synthetic analogs.

In direct contrast, vitamin c refers to exactly one L eantomer of a certain organic acid or salt thereof derived from glucose. It got named ascorbic acid precicely because it was the only substance that prevented or cured scurvy.

Those chemists are pretty darn smart and have lots more tools at their disposal today than 100+ plus years ago when the term vitamin was first coined.

Good point! I know there are some who question if the tocopherols/tocotrienols are "Vitamin E" at all or if such a vitamin actually exists. Granted, "Vitamin" is somewhat of an antiquated and ambigous term. I've never found any documented "Vitamin E deficiency disease". I personally take 1000 units of vitamin e (as mixed tocopherols), sometimes I wonder if it is one of the things I could cut out.

Vitamin E deficiency is rarer than other vitamin deficiencies, partly because most people manage to get sufficient amounts of it through diet. It is mostly found in people with disorders in fat metabolism or absorption, and usually leads to neuromuscular problems.

Any link to the WHO study in question?

Owen, a former co-worker of mine had a heart attack several years ago and decided to take Vitamin E religiously after the event. She has never had a heart attack again. The only problem she has is that she is borderline diabetic.

ofonorow wrote:

Any link to the WHO study in question?

It is not easy to find, at least using google/Internet. (You would think such a finding would have been news?) I'll put it on my list, to go through the Sinatra book, and follow the reference, and will post it here.

Thanks, Owen.

It is strange that it's not easy to find with Google, considering the sensationalist media usually jumps onto stories like this. My guess is that this was a study done before the advent of the Interwebs.

Vitamin E consists of tocopherols and tocotrienols:
Tocopherols:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocopherols

Tocotrienols:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocotrienol

They are not always found together and may have specific functions when used independently.
d-Alpha Tocopherol is known to block d-gamma tocopherol.
The form used in these studies is always dl-alpha tocopherol, which is found in no biological systems in nature. It is synthesized from carbide.