R.B. & other brainiacs - supplement ????

[R.B.]

Donna

Thanks for the brainiac complement.

I would repeat for those that haven't seen it before that I am not an expert nutritionist. I'm just a nerd who has spent rather a lot of time reading trials and books on the specific subject of fats.

I am guessing from your posts that you are pondering the topic of diet. (No great genius there )

The key phrase for me in the quote that you have cited is “this is usually caused by fat malabsorption”. If your digestion is not working properly you will not be absorbing fats properly. If you have inflammation in your digestive system, it will not work properly.

There is a good book by Elaine Gottschall Breaking the Vicious Cycle. This explains in simple terms some of the causes of poor digestion.

If you're omega-3 6 balance is a long way out of balance you are more likely to suffer from inflammatory conditions. My personal experience is balancing the omega threes and sixes significantly assists in improving the digestion.

Most people do not have enough omega-3 and that diet, so poor absorption is in a sense a double whammy. Increasing your omega-3 content in your diet will increase the chances that at least some is getting absorbed.

In addition increasing your omega-3 intake and reducing omega six intake should help reduce inflammatory pressures, which includes inflammation in the digestive system.

So in this rather roundabout way what I'm trying to say is before worrying about your vitamin E. intake ensure that your digestion is working as best you can get it, and balancing of omega threes and sixes. (and the usuals avoid processed foods, get plenty of green things variety etc)

In respect of your questions on vitamin E. It is not a subject that I have read much on. Here is a link that looks at dosages

http://www.vitacost.com/Healthnotes/Supp/Vitamin-E.aspx

Oxidation is a difficult subject and there are no easy answers. You are asking some very fundamental questions, many of which at the moment aren't answered. Can't live with it and can't live without it. Some oxidation is good and some oxidation is bad . It is all a question of balance. There are no definitive answers.

If you are looking for something to change that really might make a significant difference to your risk profile it is to balance the omega threes and sixes, and ensure an adequate apply of the long chain omega threes DHA and EPA.

I'm in the process of finalising a book on omega threes and sixes and oxidation is one of the issues that it looks at. It will hopefully be available in November.


Here are some trial links and abstracts I found on Vitamin E some good some bad.

RB

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...ubmed_RVDocSum

1: Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16(3):498-504.Links
Tocotrienol levels in adipose tissue of benign and malignant breast lumps in patients in Malaysia.
Nesaretnam K, Gomez PA, Selvaduray KR, Razak GA.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 6 Persiaran Insitusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Malaysia. sarnesar@mpob.gov.my

“The study reveals that dietary intake influences adipose tissue fatty acid levels and that adipose tissue is a dynamic reservoir of fat soluble nutrients. The higher adipose tissue concentrations of tocotrienols in benign patients provide support for the idea that tocotrienols may provide protection against breast cancer.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...RVAbstractPlus
1: J Nutr Biochem. 2002 Jan;13(1):2-20. Links
Does lack of tocopherols and tocotrienols put women at increased risk of breast cancer?
Schwenke DC.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

"Thus, it seems plausible that the modest protection from breast cancer associated with dietary vitamin E may be due to the effects of the other tocopherols and the tocotrienols in the diet."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...ubmed_RVDocSum
Effect of vitamin E on tamoxifen-treated breast cancer cells.
Peralta EA, Viegas ML, Louis S, Engle DL, Dunnington GL.
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Ill, USA. eperalta@siumed.edu
“These studies suggest that supplemental vitamin E decreases the inhibitory effect of TAM on the proliferation of ER+ breast cancer cells and eliminates the rapid rise in intracellular calcium that leads to apoptosis stimulated by TAM. The use of vitamin E acetate supplements may be inadvisable for women taking tamoxifen.”

[Becky]

It is the oxidation process that causes most free radicals in the body. Kind of weird that as soon as a new baby is born and takes its first breath, the damage begins (so to speak). I sometimes chuckle thinking about the only way to truly stop free radical formation is to stop breathing but then, duh?

Antioxidants are really chemicals that are chemically, reducing agents. In organic chemistry - reducing agents donate a hydrogen atom. Really good reducing agents donate a hydrogen molecule (H2). However, in inorganic chemistry (some of which occurs in the body via peroxide reactions), reducing agents lose electrons.

So reducing agents neutralize the oxidative process and soak up the free electrons or hydrogen atoms that are given off during reactions in the body that primarily have to do with manufacturing and using energy via the Krebs cycle in the mitochondria. All food eventually digested to glucose which the mitochondria break down (in the presence of oxygen which is why we breath it in) to produce ATP which is what the body really uses for cellular energy. Making ATP and breaking it down is what makes the bulk (not all) of the free radicals. So if you stop breathing and eating.... you will still be in big trouble so eat your fruit and vegetables.

[R.B.]

I think Becky knows more than I do

It is all a question of balance and the right types of oxidation with the right fuel.

A bit like the fire in the fire place. You don't want it getting out of hand. It needs the right fuel to burn well etc.

RB.