Armoring Your DNA

Tocotrienols may protect your cells from the DNA damage that leads to cancer. But when you chose a tototrienol source, make sure it doesn’t promote the rainforest damage that could contribute to environmental doom.

Function follows form

Vitamins and minerals have different forms, and the results produced by each form may vary widely. Who knew!? Actually, HSI members knew. In several e-Alerts we’ve examined the pros and cons of the different forms of vitamin C, calcium, and vitamin E.

As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, vitamin E has four tocopherol forms (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta), and four tocotrienol forms (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta). A new study from Malaysia reveals that the tocotrienols may offer significant protection from DNA damage.

STUDY PROFILE

Researchers at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia recruited nearly 65 healthy adults between the ages of 37 and 78
Half the subjects received daily supplements that contained 160 mg of Tri E Tocotrienol, a supplement product that contains all four tocotrienols as well as alpha- tocopherol
Half the subjects received a placebo
After the six-month trial period, researchers found that significantly less DNA damage was apparent in the white blood cells of those in the tocotrienol group, compared to the placebo group
Oxidative markers were also significantly reduced in the tocotrienol group compared to placebo

In the journal Nutrition, authors of the study also note that reduction of DNA damage was most pronounced among older subjects.

The other side of the world

Tocotrienols may be the more modest forms of vitamin E, but they do have their own web site.

According to tocotrienols.org, a 1995 study of 50 patients with blockage of the carotid artery showed that six months of daily supplementation with 240 mg of palm-based tocotrienols improved blood flow through carotid arteries in more than 90 percent of the subjects.

Note the term “palm-based.” As in the Universiti Kebangsaan study, the tocotrienol source in the ’95 study was palm oil – the primary source of tocotrienols, although they’re also available from cereal grains, rice bran oil, and wheat germ oil.

Unfortunately, there’s good news and bad news regarding palm oil.

First the good: Palm oil is used more and more these days because it contains no trans fats – a huge plus! The fact that the oil is high in saturated fats is upsetting for some nutritionists, but that’s not the bad news. The true bad news concerns the potential environmental impact of increased palm oil production.

In a 2005 report, the Center for Science in the Public Interest noted that about 90 percent of the world’s palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. With demand for the oil on the rise, entrepreneurs in both of these countries have been clearing large tracts of rainforest to plant the trees that produce palm oil.

So if you go looking for a tocotrienol supplement, you can avoid adding to this environmental worry by choosing an alternate source such as rice bran oil. Also, talk to your doctor before adding tocotrienols to your supplement regimen.

Sources:
“Reduction of DNA Damage in Older Healthy Adults by Tri E Tocotrienol Supplementation” Nutrition, Published online ahead of print, August 2007
“Cruel Oil” Center for Science in the Public Interest, May 2005, cspinet.org