Vitamin Information Center

MODESTO, Calif., Sept 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Journal of Nutrition Cites Almonds as a Rich Source to Fill the “E Gap”
More than 90 percent of the U.S. population does not meet the current intake recommendation for vitamin E, according to a special supplement to the September 2008 Journal of Nutrition(). The article recognized almonds as an excellent source of vitamin E that can fill this nutrient gap and the authors concluded that vitamin E, among other things, can help support a healthy immunity.
The Almond Board of California has commissioned numerous studies on the availability of nutrients in almonds, and as an excellent source of vitamin E, one ounce of almonds could help consumers reach their recommended daily allowance (RDA). The RDA for vitamin E is 15mg of alpha-tocopherol. On average, most Americans consume only 8 mg of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E per day. By eating one ounce of almonds (7.5mg of vitamin E), Americans can achieve the RDA.
“Vitamin E is an essential nutrient that the body needs daily, and most people don’t realize that they can fill that ‘E gap’ with easily available and enjoyable whole foods,” said Maret Traber, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and principal investigator at the Linus Pauling Institute and expert on vitamin E. “Almonds are an excellent source of vitamin E.”
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recognizes vitamin E as a nutrient of concern in the American diet since most people don’t get enough. The Guidelines highlight almonds as the premier whole food source of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E, the form of vitamin E that the human body prefers.
Dr. Karen Lapsley, director of scientific affairs for the Almond Board of California, confirmed almonds’ multi-tasking nutrition profile, stating, “In addition to vitamin E, when compared ounce for ounce, almonds are the nut highest in protein (6g), fiber (3g), calcium (75mg), riboflavin (0.3mg) and niacin (1mg). Also, the skins of almonds contain levels of antioxidants called flavanoids that are similar to many fruits and vegetables(2).”
Americans can close the gap — the E Gap — today by adding a one-ounce handful of vitamin E-rich almonds.
One ounce of almonds, about a handful, offers: Calcium (75mg), Protein (6g); Iron (1.0mg); Potassium (200 mg); Unsaturated Fat (12g). U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that the majority of your fat intake be unsaturated. One serving of almonds (28g) has 13g of unsaturated fat and only 1g of saturated fat.
The Almond Board of California administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. Established in 1950, the Board’s charge is to promote the best quality almonds, California’s largest tree nut crop. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit www.AlmondsAreIn.com.
References:
() Janet C. King, Jeffrey Blumberg, Linda Ingwersen, Mazda Jenab, and Katherine L. Tucker. Tree Nuts and Peanuts as Components of a Healthy Diet, Journal of Nutrition, September 2008, Volume 138, Number 9S-I Supplement. 1734-1765.
(2) Paul E. Milbury, Chung-Yen Chen, Gregory G. Dolnikowski, Jeffrey B. Blumberg. Determination of Flavanoids and Phenolics and Their Distribution in Almonds, Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, June 28, 2006.
SOURCE Almond Board of California
http://www.AlmondsAreIn.com

Despite great advances in medicine, cancer is still a very common disease. At current rates, more than a third of us will suffer from cancer during our lifetime and about one in four of us will die from it. According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people worldwide died from cancer in 2007.

Research statistics report that 30 to 40% of cancers are directly linked to nutrition, which shows the importance of a healthy diet in cancer prevention. Meanwhile, scientists continue to investigate foods known to be anti-carcinogenic in order to develop strategies for both cancer prevention (chemoprevention) and treatment (chemotherapy). As Hippocrates said over 2000 years ago, “Let food be thy medicine.”

The problem with current chemotherapeutic treatments is that most are not completely selective for carcinogenic cells—they harm normal cells too—and decrease the quality of life for cancer patients. Scientists are hoping that by developing chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents based on natural micronutrients, they will be able to develop drugs that target cancer cells with less or no harm to normal cells.

Vitamin E is an important antioxidant micronutrient. Research shows that vitamin E not only improves skin health, boosts the immune system, protects against heart disease, aging and Alzheimer’s, but also has a role in protection against some types of cancer. Unlike some vitamins, which consist of a single compound, vitamin E consists of eight different compounds, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Our food contains all eight compounds. Tocopherols are most commonly found in nuts and vegetable oils, whereas tocotrienols are primarily derived from palm oil, oat, rye, wheat germ, barley and rice bran.

Even though the vitamin E family consists of 8 members, most research has traditionally focused on alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol is the most abundant form of vitamin E in the plasma and tissue of humans as well as in vitamin supplements, while the seven other types of vitamin E were greatly ignored for many years. Recent research over the last few years has led to the conclusion that the eight vitamin E compounds have different anti-carcinogenic potencies which need to be considered.

The cancer preventive properties of vitamin E were first suspected when studies showed that people in the Mediterranean area who consume diets rich in vitamin E have a lower risk of colon cancer than people in Northern Europe and the U.S. (Eur J Clin Nutr. 1989; 43:49-55, Cancer Causes Control. 1995; 6:525-31.) More recently, the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study showed that dietary vitamins E and C were protective for both colon and rectal cancer, and that for both vitamins there was a dose-response effect of increasing protection. (Nutr Cancer. 2006; 56:11-21.)

Another clinical study supported a preventive effect of vitamin E in the development of prostate cancer. This study included over 29,000 elderly male smokers and showed that those taking vitamin E for six years had 32% fewer diagnoses of prostate cancer and 41% fewer prostate cancer deaths than men who did not take vitamin E. (J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998; 90:440-446.) The ongoing NIH sponsored Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) is investigating selenium and vitamin E for prostate cancer prevention based on the encouraging results of earlier studies.

In the past few years most of the research has focused on structural variations of the natural forms of vitamin E with the aim of developing the anti-carcinogenic potency of these agents. The scientific community is hoping to take some of the synthetic derivatives to clinical trials, so it will be interesting to see if any of these compounds will be eventually developed into chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents.

But you should be aware that all vitamin E supplements are NOT created equal. Many contain synthetic vitamin E, and many do not contain all of the various types of natural vitamin E that the body requires. Make certain that your supplement contains both natural tocopherols and tocotrienols in their natural forms if you want to get the most out of what vitamin E has to offer. Only products that contain the complete vitamin E family—tocopherols plus tocotrienols—provide the full spectrum of benefits of vitamim E.

The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: A careful examination of the research performed so far on vitamin E and cancer leads me to conclude that vitamin E possesses strong anti-carcinogenic properties. While food is by far the preferred source of vitamin E, it is practically impossible to get protective amounts of vitamin E from food alone. Therefore, I feel that taking supplemental vitamin E is absolutely essential to achieving vibrant health and longevity.

ORGANIC MILK has been found to be a valuable dietary source of vitamins and antioxidants, almost next in effectiveness to fruits and vegetables.

Higher vitamins and nutrients in organic milk

A recent research conducted by the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Newcastle has revealed that organic milk is 50 per cent higher in the alpha tocopherol compound of Vitamin E, 75 percent higher in beta carotene, which is used by our bodies to convert to vitamin A, and has almost three times higher antioxidants (lutein and zeaxanthine) than non organic cow milk.

The report also stated that organic milk contains higher levels of omega three essential fatty acids. This is mainly because organic cows are not only pastured grazed, but are also fed with more quantity of red clover than conventional cows. Red clover contains large amount of omega three which ultimately reaches us through the organic milk.

Another research from the University of Liverpool showed that organic milk contains 68 per cent more omega three essential fatty acids. Omega three deficiencies has been the major cause of various health problems such as heart disease, inflammations (in skin diseases such as eczema), cancer, arthritis, etc.

Powerful antioxidants in organic milk

Both beta-carotene and Alpha tocopherol, the most active of vitamin E compounds, function as powerful antioxidants. While the former helps reduce the risk of developing cancer, the other counters the harm caused by free radicals, which cause ageing. Beta-carotene is useful for strong eyesight, greater resistance to infections, good skin, bone growth, tooth development, reproduction and gene expression. Major studies have found that these nutrients don’t have much value, if taken as supplements, instead of directly from food items.

Lutein and zeaxanthine antioxidants, which are vitamins in the vitamin A category, help prevent cataracts, macular degeneration (deteriorating eye sight as we age) and atherosclerosis (when the blood vessels block up). Women get 17.5 per cent of the required intake of vitamin E and men 14 percent by drinking a pint of organic milk a day. A pint of milk also provides the same quantity of beta-carotene as a portion of some vegetables such as Brussels sprouts.

Benefits from meeting organic requirements

Grass or grain, feed for organic farm cows has to be grown without pesticides. Cows reared in organic farms and fed on a rich diet of forage, fresh grass and clover, develop to become healthier. It is mandatory for United State Development Agriculture (USDA) organic labeled milk to come from cows that has not been treated with bovine growth hormone (BGH) to increase milk production.

Another vital requirement for organic cows is that they must have access to pastures. Studies have found that organic milk has more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA promotes metabolic rate, immunity to diseases and muscle growth, and at the same time, brings down abdominal fat, cholesterol, and allergic reactions. Cows that are grazed on pastures have been found to produce 500 per cent more CLA in its milk than cows that are fed fodder. There has been increased in the interest of organic milk after recent research on animals showed that CLA is beneficial in cancer treatment.

Non-organic cows

The research found no additional nutritional benefits in non-organic cows. Such cows are fed on a cheaper diet, high in energy rich concentrates to increase milk yields. Non-organic farmers also freely use GM cattle feed, urea and solvent extracted feeds and waste from food factories.

The European Food Safety Authority has given the thumbs up to the use of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienol tocopherol as vitamin E sources in food supplements.

But its Panel on Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC)concluded there was insufficient data for the safe use of tocotrienols as a supplements precursor.

An upper safe level of 300mg was established in 2003 for vitamin E (as d-alpha-tocopherol) by the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) while the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has recommended daily consumption levels up to 2mg per kilogram of a person’s body weight.

It said other clinical studies demonstrated no adverse effects at levels up to 5mg per kg of body weight.

D-Alpha-tocopherol, one of the forms deemed safe by the AFC, is the major constituent of the naturally-sourced vitamin E that is more bioavailable than synthetic versions and therefore favoured by large segments of the European supplements industry.

Gamma-tocopherol is used in synthetic vitamin E which is more commonly found on the American market.

The judgement

“The three preparations, mixed tocopherols, tocotrienol tocopherol and tocotrienols are proposed to be used as sources of vitamin E,” AFC stated. “These sources contain varying amounts of tocopherols and tocotrienols.”

Its opinion did not relate to vitamin E itself, which was “outside the remit of this Panel. The present opinion deals only with the safety and bioavailability of three particular sources of vitamin E, intended for the general population, to be added in food supplements.”

It added: “Since the bioavailability and tissue distribution of tocotrienols appear to be different from that of tocopherols and since the specifications of the two tocotrienol preparations of the present opinion do not match the specifications [of a previous opinion], the only registered vitamin E additive which has specification including tocotrienols, safety assessment of these tocotrienol-containing preparations cannot be based on upper limits for vitamin E.”

It said, in regard to tocotrienol, that softgel capsules were the usual form of consumption and provided up to 1000mg of tocotrienols per day.

This would result in a daily intake of 16.7mg of tocotrienols  per kg body weight for a 60kg person - higher than the 5 mg/kg bw/day “frequently demonstrated to be without adverse effects in human studies.”

The AFC therefore concluded, “the available safety data are insufficient to conclude on the safety of the proposed use and use levels of the tocotrienols.”

The industry faced a crisis some years ago when a tightening of European Union Genetically Modified Organism traceability laws threatened the tocopherols-based natural vitamin E supply chain because of problems determining the non-GM credentials of the soy crops most naturally sourced vitamin E is derived from.

After a period of supply constriction, most major suppliers were however able to get their houses in order and produce the necessary paperwork

Market researcher Frost & Sullivan forecast the western European vitamin E market would grow from €72.4m in 2004 to about €105m in 2011.

There are eight forms of vitamin E: four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta).

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Editor’s note:  A recent study found that use of vitamin E supplements was not associated with reduced risk of lung cancer among the general population. Among current smokers, taking vitamin E supplements may even dramatically increase the risk of the cancer up to 28%.  The following is compiled by a foodconsumer.org editor for those who want to know more about this vitamin. The key point is that vitamin E by definition is essential to your health and you should not avoid it.  The best source is of course food. But when you take a supplement, make sure you are taking the natural form of vitamin E.  Read on for detail.

Vitamin E: What you need to know

What is vitamin E?

Vitamin E is a group of eight nutrients including four tocopherols, (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-) and four tocotrienols (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-). Alpha-tocopherol is the only form of vitamin E that is active in the body.

What does vitamin E do in the body?

The form of vitamin E most known today is alpha-tocopherol, which is believed to be used in the body mainly as an antioxidant. Antioxidants are expected to neutralize free radials endogenously and oxidative environmental pollutants.

Alpha-tocopherol is fat-soluble and helps protect against oxidation of fatty components in the cell membrane and also protect fats in low density liporpoteins (LDLs), which transport cholesterol from the liver to the tissue of the body. Oxidation of LDLs could lead to development of cardiovascular diseases.

Alpha-tocopherol also affects some enzymes and the production of immune and inflammatory cells among other things.

The functions of other forms of vitamin E are not as well understood.

What are the consequences of vitamin E deficiency?

Vitamin E deficiency could be caused either by low intake of the vitamin or by some conditions that disable the alpha-tocopherol transfer protein or by some problem with fat absorption.  Those who can’t absorb fat such as patients with cystic fibrosis or cholesterol liver disease would have a problem with absorbing this vitamin from the diet, potentially leading to vitamin E deficiency.

The main consequences of severe vitamin E deficiency are neurological symptoms such as ataxia (impaired balance and coordination), peripheral neuropathy (injury to sensory nerves, myopathy (muscle weakness) and pigmented retinopathy (damage to the eye retina). People who experience these symptoms should be checked for their vitamin E status.  Children are more sensitive and thus more vulnerable to vitamin E deficiency and they can quickly show neurological symptoms while adults may not develop symptoms due to the deficiency for 10 to 20 years.

Vitamin E deficiency due to low intake of this nutrient rarely results in any reported symptoms.  In effect, vitamin E deficiency due to low dietary intake is rare although suboptimal intake of this nutrient is found common in the U.S. population. A study known as the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) showed 27 % of whites, 41% of blacks, 28% Mexican Americans and 32% of others have less than 20 micromoles/liter, a level of vitamin E that is believed to pose a risk for cardiovascular disease.

What is the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E?

The RDA set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine in 2000 varies with age.  The RDA for both adult males and females is 15 mg or 22.5 IU per day.  Pregnancy does not require extra vitamin E, but breastfeeding mother need 19 mg or 28.5 IU per day.

What are the conditions or diseases on which vitamin E may have an effect?

Observational studies have showed an association between increased vitamin E intake and decreased risk of myocardial infarction or heart attack or death from heart disease in both men and women.  Studies also found plasma levels of alpha-tocopherol were inversely linked to the severity of carotid atherosclerosis. But trials often failed to see any protective effect of this vitamin on heart attacks and death.

Observational studies also showed vitamin E may protect against cataracts, but interventional trials did not find any protective effect when 400 IU of vitamin E was used for 7 years.

Alpha-tocopherol was also found to boost the immune response. One study showed 200 mg of synthetic-tocopherol daily for a few months increased production of antibodies in response to hepatitis B vaccine and tetanus vaccine in elderly people.

Because free radials are believed to cause damage to DNA, neutralization of these compounds by antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin E is believed to have a preventative effect against cancer.  But many studies showed that vitamin E supplements were not linked to reduced risk of cancer.  In a recent study, vitamin E supplementation for ten years was found even to increase the risk of lung cancer in current smokers.

What are the foods that contain high levels of vitamin E?

The major dietary sources of alpha-tocopherol include vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower and safflower oils; nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts; whole grains products; and green leafy vegetables such as spinach.  All eight forms of vitamin E occur naturally in foods.

Those who would use vitamin E supplements should check and see if the form they buy is natural or synthetic.  They may better off buying and using only the natural form.  The synthetic form of vitamin is biochemically not usable by the body and potentially cause a physiologic problem in the body.  The natural form in food (not the fortified) is the form of the isomer, RRR-alpha-tocopherol.  In supplemental vitamin E, dl-alpha-tocopherol or all-rac-alpha-tocopherol means the vitamin is synthetic.

There are some other forms of vitamin E or derivatives used in supplements.  Foodconsumer.org recommends use of the natural form d-alpha-tocopherol.

What are the possible side effects of vitamin E?

Vitamin E is fat-soluble and too much of its intake through supplements may cause some side effects. But the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine believes 1000 mg or 1500 IU of alpha-tocopherol per day can be tolerated by adults aged 19 or older.  The dietary intake of this vitamin rarely poses any risk.

Six-year vitamin E supplementation increased tuberculosis risk by 72% in male smokers who had high dietary vitamin C intake, but vitamin E had no effect on those who had low dietary vitamin C intake, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
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