Vitamin E found to have bone health benefits: Research finds it improves bone density in postmenopausal women

A new study revealed that vitamin E — in particular tocotrienol — could improve the bone density of postmenopausal women. The study was carried out by a group of scientists from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the Georgia State University who assessed the benefit of vitamin E to bone health.

“This study showed that supplementation of tocotrienols, mainly delta-tocotrienols, suppressed bone [bone remodeling regulators],” the researchers wrote in the report. “Such osteoprotective tocotrienol’s effects may be, in part, mediated by an inhibition of oxidative stress.”

Are Antioxidants Really Important To Humans?

The human body is a very delicate machine and various substances, natural or man made are useful and beneficial to its ability to perform optimally.
Amongst those substances are antioxidants.
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals, leading to chain reactions that may damage cells.
You might already know about foods you should be eating for your heart or your gut—but what about the foods that protect your cells? Those would be the ones packed with antioxidants, a buzzy term you’ve probably heard before.
What Are Antioxidants?

Benefits of Palm Tocotrienols in Health and Disease Management

During the recently concluded Palm International Nutra-Cosmeceutical Conference (PINC 2017), speakers highlighted recent breakthroughs in palm tocotrienols research and the current clinical practices of using palm tocotrienols for disease management. Some of the highlights are:

Heart of the Matter – New hypertension guidelines focus more attention on cardiovascular health

Stress. Overwork. Too much salt. Sedentary lifestyle. Genetics. Many factors contribute to cardiovascular disease but there are ways to help your customers stave off the effects by using nutritional supplements and practicing better eating habits.

Let’s start with high blood pressure, or the more formally known “hypertension.” New guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology lower the definition of high blood pressure to 130/80 millimeters of mercury or greater from the previous 140/90.

The most effective ingredients to support healthy blood pressure, she says, are omega-3s, coenzymeQ10, magnesium, vitamin E, garlic, amino acids (l-arginine, l-carnitine, l-taurine, l-citruline).

Health and Nutritional Benefits of Palm Oil

According to a Smart Publications research report, “red palm oil has a higher bioavailability of antioxidant nutrients (proportion of nutrients that are usable by the body) than other vegetable sources and is a particularly important dietary oil for people who are not taking an excellent vitamin E supplement, with tocopherols and tocotrienols, and full-spectrum carotenoid nutritional supplement. It is considered the richest natural source of carotenoids with concentrations of 700- 1000 ppm. That’s 30 times more than is contained in carrots!”

Health Benefits of Vitamin E

Vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant, can only be obtained as a food supplement, but has widely-known health benefits for the skin, heart and brain. Deficiency of vitamin E is rarely naturally-occurring, but when it does appear, it is typically caused by fat malabsorption disorders or genetic abnormalities. Vitamin E is well-known in the cosmetic world for its skin benefits, but also protects against toxins that can deteriorate the eyes and brain.

Annatto: Delivering Tocotrienols from Amazonia

Today, annatto is known to be one of the superior sources of tocotrienols, whose researched health benefits mirror some of those passed down from ancient traditions. Unique among the plant kingdom, annatto produces only tocotrienols, whereas all other known sources of this vitamin E nutrient, such as palm and rice, deliver mixtures of tocopherols and tocotrienols, typically containing anywhere from 25-50% alpha-tocopherol. This is one ancient secret steeped into an Amazonian past.

What doesn’t kill makes you stronger — The other side of Farouk Musa

“Since our country is rich with palm oil, why not leverage on the resources? But it is also because of Vitamin E isomer, tocopherol, derived mainly from soya in the West, did not prove consistent results as a prevention supplement for the post-CABG patients, hence my study using another more potent Vitamin E isomer, tocotrienol, which is derived from palm oil,” said Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa.

A New Look at Vitamin E: Tocotrienols

In the recent history of dietary supplements, vitamin E has been around forever. Discovered in 1922, it was once known only as tocopherol because the tocotrienol form had not yet been identified. The bulk of research was on tocopherols until recently, which may explain why alpha-tocopherol is the form used in most multivitamins and supplemented in foods today. Yet, a growing body of evidence suggests tocotrienols—which contain some exceptional benefits not shared by their “older” tocopherol siblings–deserve a closer look.

Vitamin E: A Closer Look at Tocotrienols

When vitamin E was discovered in 1922, it was discovered as alpha-tocopherol. Between that time and 1940, scientists delved into tocopherol research, ranging from alpha-tocopherol’s isolation from plants², chemical identification^3,4, complete synthesis⁵, and antioxidant activity⁶. In fact, the tocopherol form remained the main focus of vitamin E science for decades, and, as such, research on tocopherols boomed.^7,8

Tocotrienols were discovered later, in the mid-1960s.^9,10 Tocotrienols’ ability to lower lipids was first reported in the early 1980s; in the 1990s, tocotrienols were associated with reduction of cardiovascular diseases and inhibition of cancers.¹¹ Despite the growing research on tocotrienols, they are still often confused with tocopherols and were not even properly listed in the Merck Index, the encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals, until 2001.¹²