Vitamin E options

  1. Vitamin E alpha-tocopherol (main one sold in box stores) – Alpha- (or α-) tocopherol is the only form that is recognized to meet human requirements.
  2. Vitamin E gamma tocopherol – Studies indicate that only the gamma-tocopherol plasma level served as biomarker for cancer and cardiovascular risk.
  3. Vitamin E mixed tocopherols (more expensive but has gamma)
  4. Vitamin E tocotrienols-Tocotrienols possess powerful neuroprotective, anti-cancer and cholesterol lowering properties that are often not exhibited by tocopherols. Current developments in vitamin E research clearly indicate that members of the vitamin E family are not redundant with respect to their biological functions.Median serum concentrations of α- and γ-tocopherol in Germans were 31.54 μmol/L and 1.35 µmol/L, respectively.  Mayo Clinic healthy minimum α- level for adults: 5.5-17.0 mg/L.
  5. People over 65 should get 200 mg per day. A study by Simin Meydani et al that compared 60, 200, and 800 mg daily. They demonstrated that the 200 mg dosage was superior in elevating the immune response in elderly participants, and it is especially important to note that there were no adverse effects seen in this study, as has been consistently true for vitamin E. “88 free-living, healthy subjects at least 65 years old… were randomly assigned placebo or 60, 200, or 800 mg/d of vitamin E for 235 days… Subjects consuming 200 mg/d of vitamin E had a 65% increase in [immune cells]… No adverse effects were observed with vitamin E supplementation.” Meydani, S.N., et al. “Vitamin E supplementation and in vivo immune response in health elderly subjects”, JAMA 277: 1380-86 (1997))