Don't be misled about Vitamin E or Selenium

Healthy by Nature radio show this week: I revisit Vitamin B12 with nurse/author, Sally Pacholok because I still have questions. (I promise to rehearse the pronunciation of her name. Last time I said it 6 different ways.) Instead of writing about it here, to follow up on my discussion last week with Doug Kaufmann about fungus/yeast, I decided to bring on Certified Nutritionist Gayle Pruitt because she gives people practical help with the problem every day. Call the show with questions at 1-800-281-8255. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide. NOTE: Watch for another email from me either later today or in the morning. It announces an event I think might interest you. The sponsoring firm will widely promote my upcoming webinar on digestion. In return I'm asked to notify my mailing list of their teleseminar on becoming a health coach. There will also be a reminder notice sent next week.

VITAMIN E and SELENIUM...A BUM RAP?

I’m doing columns for small town newspapers and thought I’d share a sample. Dear Martie, I’ve taken a Vitamin E supplement for years to protect my heart. But, I was alarmed recently to hear that it might increase my risk of prostate cancer. I’m hoping that isn’t true. Bill G. Augusta, GA Dear Reader, The name “vitamin” means the nutrient is essential—i.e. not optional. Hundreds of studies have shown the preventive value of Vitamin E for heart disease, neurological problems and even cancer. However, in a study and its recent follow up (the SELECT trial) they didn’t use the natural form of Vitamin E. The supplement was just one isolated branch of the Vitamin E family and was in a chemical form (rac-a-tocopheryl acetate) shown to be only ½ as helpful as that isolate as found in food. LINK. Many experts believe that the pill they used in the study blocked the protective effects of the real Vitamin E participants might have gotten from food or in a well-balanced supplement. Vitamin E is found in nuts, seeds, peanuts, broccoli, spinach, and, to a lesser extent, in other plant foods. The germ at the center of whole grain wheat is also a rich source, but the germ is removed to make white flour. If possible, select a Vitamin E supplement that contains the whole Vitamin E family—i.e. mixed tocopherols including alpha, beta, delta, gamma forms plus tocotrienols. (Our sponsor Jarrow makes a good one, FamilE.) Also, check your multi-vitamin. The form “dl-alpha tocopherol” is a synthetic that is typically derived from petroleum. At least choose one containing the more natural “d-alpha tocopherol”. In the SELECT trial (which I think was oddly-constructed) prostate cancer risk was increased by 17%. That is not huge, but it is certainly significant. Interestingly, when Vitamin E was combined with another antioxidant nutrient, the mineral selenium, the increased risk all but disappeared. LINK That is logical because antioxidants work in teams and should be supplemented that way.  I recommend starting with a high quality multiple vitamin/mineral which adds other members of the antioxidant team such as Vitamins A and C. Speaking of selenium, an earlier study (the NPC study) showed that selenium not only reduced prostate cancer incidence an amazing 63%, but also cut deaths from all cancers in half! That study used the same form of selenium that is found in broccoli, onions and garlic (Methylselenocysteine). For reasons I cannot fathom, that study was not followed up and in the SELECT study they used different form of selenium that has not been shown to be very beneficial. LINK

LAST WEEK

National TV personality, author, fungus expert, Doug Kaufmann, talked about fungus. Diana Denholm discussed her book, The Caregiving Wife's Handbook: Caring for Your Seriously Ill Husband--Caring for Yourself. Help organizations from her website - LINK.