What Is the Best Kind of Vitamin E to Buy

It may be difficult to decide which is the best kind of vitamin E to buy. Does it really make that much of a difference in your health?

Vitamin E is very beneficial to your health. It is a very powerful antioxidant, fighting the free radicals that accumulate in your body and cause illness and aging. Some of the many benefits of vitamin E are:

• Prevents heart disease
• Lowers the risk of a second heart attack
• Protects against prostate cancer, especially in men who smoke
• Prevents cataracts and macular degeneration
• Helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease
• Boosts immunity

There are two types of vitamin E:

• Natural vitamin E, which goes by the name of d-alpha tocopherol.
• Synthetic vitamin E, which goes by the name of dl-alpha tocopherol.

Vitamin E is a common ingredient in multivitamins and vitamin and mineral combinations, but the human body absorbs it best in a liquid form. This means that when you take a multi-vitamin with vitamin E, the vitamin E is not being used by your body properly and you may not be getting all of the benefits of this antioxidant.

Even within the categories of natural and synthetic there are significant differences.

Synthetic vitamin E, or dl-alpha tocopherol, is not easily utilized by your body. The primary benefit of this petroleum by-product is that it is less expensive than the natural vitamin E. However, if your body is not utilizing it, then it is just a waste of money. While the synthetic form is less expensive, costing about half the price of the natural vitamin E, it is much less efficient.

You must be careful when buying vitamin E to get the d-alpha tocopherol types. Even if the bottle says natural the vitamin may be partially synthetic. The only way to know for sure is to read the ingredients. Anything with dl-alpha tocopherols is, at least, partially synthetic. Generally, if it is a blend it is mostly synthetic vitamin E.

Natural vitamin E will never have dl-alpha tocopherols. If the first letters of the name are dl then it will always be synthetic.

The “d” form of vitamin E is the only type that the body recognizes. Researchers found that in studies of pregnant women, the natural vitamin E was in the placental cords in three times the concentration of the synthetic form. The significance is that this finding would seem to imply that the natural forms of vitamin E are more easily passed to the developing baby.

Other researchers have come to similar conclusions, finding that the body absorbs twice as much vitamin E from natural sources. These results were consistent in both the blood and the internal organs. It seems that while both forms of the vitamin are absorbed equally well in the gut, the liver is choosier, preferring the natural form.

The most effective forms of vitamin E have natural tocopherols and related compounds known as tocotrienols. These substances respond differently in the body. Because of this, taking one of the natural, liquid gel capsules, made up of a blend, is the most effective way to get this vitamin.

It is very difficult to get the Minimum Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of 30 International Units (IUs) per day by diet alone. That is the equivalent of two quarts of corn oil and one pound of sunflower seeds each and every day. To get the dose needed to make a difference in your health, you will need over ten times that, or 400 IUs per day, or about two quarts of high quality olive oil. Obviously supplements are the only answer.

It is important that you realize that vitamin E can interact with blood thinners like Coumadin and other medications. It is important to talk to your doctor about adding vitamin E to your diet. It is especially important to stop taking vitamin E about three weeks before surgery.

What is the best kind of vitamin E to buy? The answer is simple. Although natural vitamin E may cost more the body absorbs and uses it better. If you are going to take a supplement, you should take one that will bring the health benefits you are looking for and add to your overall health.

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