Alzheimer Relief: NOW Supplements

A bit smelly

Well, they are a bit smelly. Nothing I couldn't choke down. But definitely a distinct, unpleasant odor. These are made with beef gelatin, so just a thing to know about if you're vegan. Otherwise, these are easy to swallow and a pretty standard dose of vitamin E. I seem to be absorbing them fine, with no unexpected side effects. My geneticist has me taking daily E supplements to combat a rare iron-overload disease; the idea is that the E counteracts oxidative damage in the body. There's some research showing E has protective benefits for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's

This supplement is not vegan

PROS 1. NOW is a reputable company, and their prices tend to be lower than most other supplement brands. 2. This supplement contains a standard amount of vitamin E, which is offered in the scientifically approved form of d-alpha tocopherol. 3. Individual vitamin E supplements have typically offered 400 IU (268 mg) for decades now, so the dose for this supplement is in line with that. 4. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, which basically means it is virtually always sold in a gel capsule, such as this product, in a base of some kind of oil, usually olive oil. However, since the GI tract requires fat to absorb vitamin E properly, it is also a good idea to take any vitamin E supplement with a meal which contains some kind of fat. CONS 1. If you require a vegan supplement, this one is absolutely not vegan. I have taken multiple different brands of vitamin E over the years, including: Deva, Jarrow, Solgar, and Life Extension and, unlike this product, all of those are vegan. In this day and age, it doesn't make much sense to offer a non-vegan supplement. Especially since there is no proof of a BSE certification (see below) provided for this product. 2. If you are allergic to soy, it's important to be aware that the vitamin E in this product is manufactured from soy oil. PRODUCT INFORMATION Dose per 1 softgel: Active Ingredient: Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopherol) 268 mg (400 IU) Other Ingredients: softgel capsule (BSE-free bovine gelatin, glycerin, water), organic extra virgin olive oil, mixed tocopherols (d-beta ,d-delta, d-gamma). Soy Warning: Vitamin E manufactured from non-GMO soy. BSE = Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) AKA "Mad Cow Disease". A BSE-Free Certificate issued by a cosmetic association, such as ACMA, declares that the products listed do not contain any prohibited materials and that the manufacturing process and packaging are equally free of contamination. This company does not provide any information about this type of certification for this product. GENERAL INFORMATION ON VITAMIN E It has been commonplace for many years for the labels of virtually all vitamin E supplements, including this product, to claim to be “mixed tocopherols” or “mixed tocopherols & tocotrienols.” Naturally occurring vitamin E exists in eight different chemical forms: alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol and alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocotrienol. Each form has varying degrees of biological activity in the body. Natural tocopherols exist in only one form. In contrast, each of the four types of synthetically produced tocopherols exist in two forms. These dual forms have identical chemical composition, but they have different, mirror-image configurations, left and right. For this reason, synthetic alpha-tocopherol (AKA all-rac-alpha-tocopherol AKA all-racemic-alpha-tocopherol AKA DL-alpha-tocopherol AKA dl-alpha-tocopherol) is much less biologically active, in the same amount, by mg weight, as natural alpha-tocopherol (AKA RRR-alpha-tocopherol AKA D-alpha-tocopherol AKA d-alpha-tocopherol). For over 20 years, alpha-tocopherol (AKA Î±-tocopherol) has remained the only form of vitamin E that is recognized by the scientific community as capable of meeting human nutritional requirements. The reason for that is as follows: In the liver, when given the choice between all of the various forms of vitamin E (either consumed in food or a supplement such as this one), it is alpha-tocopherol that the liver preferentially binds to alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (AKA alpha-TTP AKA Î±-TTP). This substance incorporates alpha-tocopherol into lipoproteins, which transport it within the bloodstream for distribution to tissues throughout the body. This basically means that, if one consumes a more expensive “mixed tocopherols” type of vitamin E supplement, alpha-tocopherol will be the hugely dominant form of vitamin E that your body will absorb. That is, alpha-tocopherol would be the form of vitamin E that would be predominantly found in the blood and tissues of a person consuming a “mixed tocopherols” supplement. Because of these scientific findings, vitamin E supplements, including this one, typically list on their product label only alpha-tocopherol as the main, active ingredient, even if they include the words, “mixed tocopherols,” in their product name, as this product does. It is true that some brands of vitamin E with the product name, “mixed tocopherols,” will also list d-gamma, d-beta, and d-delta among the active ingredients, rather than among the “other ingredients,” as this product does. But when that happens, those other three types of tocopherols tend to be offered in about 1/20th the amount of the alpha-tocopherol, for example: Only 13.4 IU (20 mg) total for all three types when the alpha-tocopherol is 400 IU (268 mg). The RDA for vitamin E as natural alpha-tocopherol (d-alpha-tocopherol), for men and women over the age of 14, is 22.4 IU (15 mg). Because it is much less bioavailable in the body, as stated above, the RDA for synthetic alpha-tocopherol (dl-alpha-tocopherol) is 33.3 IUâ€"which is how much it takes to amount to an assimilated 15 mg in the body. Vitamin E's main claim to fame in promoting health and preventing disease is that is a highly effective antioxidant. As such, it is anti-inflammatory, inhibits platelet aggregation (that is, it acts as an effective blood thinner which has no negative side effectsâ€"unlike aspirin), and enhances immune function. As a result, it is no surprise that there is scientific evidence that vitamin E helps heal and prevent the following: heart disease, cancer, eye disease, and cognitive decline (such as dementia and Alzheimer's) . The only negative side effect that decades of research has uncovered for supplementing with vitamin E is that it can increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke in people who are also taking blood thinning drugs. But to create that kind of risk, one would have to consume an enormous amount of vitamin E, very far above the 400 IU of a typical vitamin E supplement. REFERENCES Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration and vision loss: AREDS report no. 8. Arch Ophthalmol 2001;119:1417-36. Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E and beta carotene for age-related cataract and vision loss: AREDS report no. 9. Arch Opthalmol 2001;119:1439-52. Bjelakovic, G., et al. Mortality in randomized trials of antioxidant supplements for primary and secondary prevention: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2007;297:842-57. Bostick, R., et al. Reduced risk of colon cancer with high intakes of vitamin E: the Iowa Women's Health Study. Cancer Res 1993;15:4230-17. Dietrich, M., et al. Does Î³-tocopherol play a role in the primary prevention of heart disease and cancer? A review. Am J Coll Nutr 2006;25:292-9. Hathcock, J., et al. Vitamins E and C are safe across a broad range of intakes. Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:367-45. Higdon, J. Vitamin E. Linus Pauling Institute, Micronutrient Information Center, Oregon State University. 2000. Reviewed 2015 by M. Traber. Jialal, I., et al. Vitamin E supplementation and cardiovascular events in high-risk patients. N Engl J Med 2000;342:154-60. Kang, J., et al. A randomized trial of vitamin E supplementation and cognitive function in women. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:2462-8. Lee, I., et al. Vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: the Women's Health Study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2005;294:56-65. Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Vitamin E Fact Sheet for Health Professionals, Updated: 2021 Mar 26

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2 Reviews mentioning 'Alzheimer'.

A bit smelly

This supplement is not vegan