Vitamin E tocotrienols work through multiple pathways to delay disease onset and extend lifespan

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 by: John Phillip
Tags: vitamin E, disease prevention, lifespan

(NaturalNews) The result of several new research bodies that have been published all point to the powerful effect of vitamin E tocotrienols to prevent stomach cancer, reduce fatty liver disease incidences and prevent disease mechanisms that can extend natural lifespan in humans. Over the past decade, many studies have highlighted the importance of the most common vitamin E isomer known as alpha-tocopherol. While this form of the vitamin is important to lower risk of heart disease, a plethora of new evidential studies have come forth recently to show that all four of the tocotrienols must be present to provide maximum protection against illness and extend healthy lifespan.

A growing body of evidence suggests that tocotrienols possess potent biological activity and accumulate in body tissues to affect disease initiation and progression at a preferential rate compared to the mirror-image tocopherols. Researchers publishing in the Journal of Nutrition explain that vitamin E tocotrienols accumulate at elevated levels in adipose tissue, the brain, heart, and liver to help prevent over weight and obesity, dementia, cardiovascular disease and fatty liver.

Researchers examined blood and skin samples from 80 individuals, some healthy and others in poor health. Using high performance liquid chromatography, the scientists were able to measure the degree of vitamin E tocotrienol absorption into different organs after oral supplementation. They found that critical metabolic organ structures including fat tissue, heart, liver and brain selectively concentrated both the alpha and gamma forms of the vitamin.

This is an important finding, as the alpha isomer of vitamin E crosses the blood-brain barrier at levels that have been shown to offer neuroprotective benefits and help prevent the occurrence of stroke. The gamma form provides a protective shield to the heart muscle and can aid liver health by preventing fatty liver disease and liver cancer.

Vitamin E tocotrienols help prevent stroke and extend Cellular life cycle

The most compelling research to date is published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. Scientists have demonstrated that the full spectrum of vitamin E tocotrienols yield a powerful anti-aging effect as the vitamin is shown to extend the length of telomeres while preventing damage to DNA. Telomeres are the tiny zipper-like structures that regulate cellular division and signal the end of a life cycle for each individual cell. Any mechanism that can naturally extend telomere length will slow the aging process and help prevent disease.

Vitamin E and all associated tocotrienols are readily available from a diet filled with nuts, seeds, spinach and leafy greens and certain oils such as wheat germ, sesame and olive oil. Nutrition advisors recommend consuming natural dietary sources of the vitamin daily, though some may also choose to supplement with the full spectrum of tocotrienols and tocopherols (200 - 400 mg daily spread across all isomers) to prevent chronic disease, extend telomere length and increase lifespan.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.wellnessresources.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22298568
http://www.wellnessresources.com
http://www.wellnessresources.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085479/?tool=pubmed

About the author:
John Phillip is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise, Mind and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your weight loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your copy of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan'.