Coronary Heart Disease and Vitamin E

Cardiovascular Disease and Vitamin E

In this video, we’re going to talk about cardiovascular disease and vitamin E. There are studies out there that will show that vitamin E actually causes coronary heart disease and those showing that vitamin E will cure heart disease.

What they failed to tell you (unless you read the fine print) is that the vitamin E causing heart disease is always a synthetic vitamin E. They’re not using a natural vitamin E; it’s always synthetic. Apparently, synthetics just don’t work for heart disease and don’t prevent any heart disease. It might be good for other things but definitely not for the heart.

What is natural vitamin E?

Vitamin E in nature always comes in complex with many different parts. 

The vitamin E has the tocopherols, which are the antioxidant part (alpha, beta, delta, gamma) but it also has another factor called xanthine selenium (a mineral), liposols, F2, F1, E2, and E3 fractions.

It doesn’t come as one thing. So if you take only one portion, you are only getting a small part of the whole vitamin E complex.

What’s the secret?

The key is to get a natural version. You want the tocotrienols, the natural version. If you get the ones with the alpha, beta, delta, gamma... you’re getting a better version because these are fat-soluble.

Vitamin E in general is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it penetrates the cell wall and that’s what it will do. It has a lot of functions in the body:
 

• It penetrates the plaque in the arteries and helps dissolve the plaque.

• It decreases platelets from forming that form a clot in the first place.

• It will also prevent the oxidation of cholesterol.

• It is very important in preventing the clot formation, which also could lead to strokes.

The other point I want to make about vitamin E is yes, it’s true that it comes from whole grains but as soon as the grain is ground and made into flour, it oxidizes and is destroyed pretty quickly.

So when you buy bread – even whole wheat – from the store, you’re buying bread that was made from flour that could have been sitting on the shelf for six months to a year.

Normally, you probably aren’t going to have time to grind your grain and make the bread even though it’s high in sugar... but if you were to grind your own flour and make your own bread, you would get some vitamin E. There are much better ways to get your vitamin E.

How do I get my vitamin E?
 

What foods do I eat? That’s a really good question. Here’s a list:

1. Wheat germ – However, the problem with this food is that it’s either roasted or if it’s raw, it’s rancid because it’s been sitting on the shelf for a long time. So this isn’t the best way to get your vitamin E.

2.  Palm oil

3.  Nuts

4.  Lettuce – It just so happens that you have a lot of vitamin E in lettuce. It’s another reason why you may want to eat large salads. I personally will do a huge salad with about half this head of leafy lettuce in just one salad.

In summary, the next time you go get a vitamin E, make sure it’s a natural vitamin E. Make sure it’s in the complex form and start eating your salads. Thanks for watching!

Discover the benefits of vitamin E and see more Nutrition Advice from Dr. Berg Video Blog.