 |
 |
David Meigs wrote: > Kathyrene, (or all) > At what level does Vitamin E become toxic? I have been looking all over the > net. I was taking 4 - 8,000 IU per day. Then 2 days ago I read that too > much can be toxic..... Is there a guideline until I can ask my doc? David, Murray's post pretty well sums it up. Some additional information (plus subscribing instructions come Nutrition News Focus, an e-mailed daily letter: ------------ May 24, 2000 NUTRITION NEWS FOCUS "Nutrition news is important. We help you understand it!" Today's Topic: New Vitamin E Recommended Dietary Allowance The new, May 2000 recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E has been raised from the 1989 level of 12 mg/day to 15 mg/day for adults of both sexes. The chief source of vitamin E in the diet is vegetable oils, but other rich sources are nuts, seeds, liver, and wheat germ. Good sources are leafy green vegetables. The natural form of vitamin E is d-alpha-tocopherol (also called RRR-alpha-tocopherol). The synthetic form, dl-alpha-tocopherol, is only half as active. The other seven naturally occurring forms are not converted to alpha-tocopherol in the body so the panel no longer includes them in estimating vitamin E content. The vitamin E requirement was set based on data from induced vitamin E deficiency in people and the amount of hydrogen peroxide it took in a test tube to poke holes in red blood cells in the presence of different amounts of the vitamin. This is a reasonable way to judge the body's need for vitamin E. A tolerable upper limit of 1,000 mg/day has been established for vitamin E, primarily because of the risk of stroke and other types of bleeding problems. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Some scientists think the RDA should be higher, some lower. Any committee is going to reach a compromise value, and this one seems reasonable. It is very difficult to get much more that 25 mg from the diet so it is unlikely we have evolved to consume the large quantities people take from supplements. ******************************************************************** Please recommend Nutrition News Focus to your family and friends. If you like, point your browser to http://www.nutritionnewsfocus.com/cgi-bin/birdcast.cgi where you'll find an easy recommendation form. DISCLAIMER: The information in Nutrition News Focus is intended only to help you understand the Nutrition News. We do not recommend any treatment, food or supplement. It is not intended to replace the advice of a physician. If you read something in this newsletter that in any way contradicts what your physician tells you, TAKE YOUR PHYSICIAN'S ADVICE, NOT OURS. Copyright 2000 Nutrition News Focus Inc. ******************************************************************** * NUTRITION NEWS FOCUS * We take the confusion out of the nutrition news * For a free subscription to our daily email newsletter: * Send a blank email to [log in to unmask] * Or visit our website at http://www.NutritionNewsFocus.com ******************************************************************** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [log in to unmask] To change your email address, send a message to [log in to unmask] with the other address in the Subject: line ================================ NNF is pretty conservative, and this message does not take into account conditions which may raise the need for vitamin E -- such as PD (IMO). I do recommend the natural form of vitamin E -- although it's a bit more expensive, it's also preferentially absorbed, so you'll get "more bang for your buck" so to speak. I met with a researcher who studies vitamin E and he assured me that the natural form in fact crosses the blood-brain barrier, which the synthetic form does not. Also, Consumer Labs has issued a report on manufacturers of vitamin E supplements: The findings of ConsumerLab.com’s Vitamin E Product Review were released today. The review included 19 natural and 8 synthetic vitamin E supplements and one synthetic vitamin E cream. A summary of the results is available at http://www.consumerlab.com/results/vitamine.asp. ConsumerLab.com's paid subscribers can access the full Product Review, including the complete list of CL Approved Quality Products and ConsumerTips for vitamin E by logging in at the top right corner of the Product Review page. A press release is also available at http://www.consumerlab.com/news/news_031301.asp. =================================================================== And, finally, I also recommend getting as much vit. E as possible from foods, because foods contain all the active and inactive forms of E, some of which have recently been found to support and enhance the other forms. Foods high in vitamin E include: raw nuts (roasting destroys much of the E), vegetable oils, mayonnaise (forget that fat-free stuff!), and wheat germ. Best regards, Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" "Constipation and Parkinson's" -- audiocassette & guidebook "Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy for Parkinson's disease" & Risk Assessment Tools "Risk for malnutrition and bone fracture in Parkinson's disease," J Nutr Elderly. V18:3;1999. http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn