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Monday February 23, Company Press Release SOURCE: Food for the Future New Health Study Survey Shows Vitamin E Importance in Fighting, Alleviating Neurological Diseases; Natural Vitamin E Five Times More Potent than Synthetic ADVISORY: Foods for the Future has reported frequently that Vitamin E helps prevent heart disease and stroke. Many studies have found Vitamin E to be an equally important weapon against neurological diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and epilepsy. Here is Part One of a three-part series of articles reporting on a major new survey of 17 years of Vitamin E research showing a growing protective role in neurological disorders. (Part One transmitted Monday, Feb. 23, 1998; Part Two on Feb. 24 and Part Three on Feb. 25.) WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A major new survey of 47 health studies concludes that Vitamin E plays not only an important role in preventing or alleviating neurological disorders, but that natural Vitamin E, as opposed to synthetic products, supplies far more concentration to the brain and other body tissues. Natural Vitamin E puts five times the concentration in the brain than does the synthetic version, the survey said. "The importance of Vitamin E in maintaining neurological structure and function has been well documented in clinical research," said the Veris Research and Information Service. Veris, based in LaGrange, Ill., is a not-for-profit group providing information to health professionals, researchers and educators on the role of nutrition in health, emphasizing antioxidants. The company's summary of scientific studies from 1980 to 1997 concluded: "Long-term Vitamin E deficiency is associated with a progressive neurological syndrome that can be alleviated by Vitamin E therapy." Comparing natural Vitamin E to synthetic, the survey said: "It appears that the nervous system has a marked preference for natural- source Vitamin E, which may be significant in treatment of neurological disorders. "Studies have demonstrated a preference for natural-source Vitamin E by various body tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, compared to synthetic Vitamin E," the survey said. "There was preferential uptake of natural-source Vitamin E by the lung, red blood cells, blood plasma and brain. "The brain showed the highest discrimination for natural-source Vitamin E. The concentration of natural source Vitamin E in the brain increased gradually to a five-fold higher concentration than the synthetic isomer after five months, suggesting that natural-source Vitamin E will be significantly more available to the brain than the equivalent intake of synthetic Vitamin E." The study continued: "Oxidative damage has been implicated in a number of neurological disorders and diseases, and the majority of available research has demonstrated a protective role for Vitamin E ..." Research shows that antioxidant therapy has "significantly beneficial effects in reducing associated disability," the survey said. "These documented benefits can have a major impact on the quality of life of individuals suffering from these disorders, which includes large numbers of the elderly in our aging populations." Antioxidant therapy, including Vitamin E supplements, has been the focus of many recent scientific studies. Antioxidants are compounds that protect the body from formation of oxygen free-radicals, which are unstable oxygen molecules that can line the interior of blood vessels and restrict blood flow. Formation of free radicals can lead to numerous diseases. Much of the research on Vitamin E that has gained popular attention has focused on its role in helping prevent heart attacks and stroke. But a growing number of studies have also found that Vitamin E is important in fighting neurological diseases. A recent Dutch study, for example, looked at four antioxidant compounds and concluded that only one, Vitamin E, may have a protective effect against Parkinson's disease. (Foods for the Future provides factual information to the media concerning food products, health and nutrition. It is a project of the T. Dean Reed Company and is supported by U.S. agribusiness.) SOURCE: Food for the Future Judith Richards [log in to unmask]