Sex, Drugs and Vitamin E!

Ok, using "sex" in the title wasn't just to get your attention or increase our SEO ranking. Heaven forbid! Vitamin E is called alpha tocopherol from the Greek root words toco-, meaning "offspring" and pher, from pherein meaning "to bear" because it was found that wheat germ, the source of most Vitamin E, supported fertility and sexual performance. It's true.

As for the reference to drugs, such people have suggested that vitamin E can interfere with the action of medications. The truth is that you should always consult your physician before mixing medications and supplements. Many plant and animal oils, like vitamin E and Omega-3s, act as natural blood thinners. If you are taking a pharmaceutical blood thinner this could be a problem. So always discuss your supplementation with your physician if you are on one or more medications.

Oddly many of the "problems" with mixing supplements and medications is that some nutrients can make medicines work better or faster, but of course this is not "what the doctor ordered" and can mess up your medication dosing.

I am a proponent of vitamin E use as a supplement because most people don't get enough in their diets, and because it is such an important antioxidant, protecting cell membranes from damage caused by free radicals. Vitamin E is best known for its role as an antioxidant protector against heart disease, cancer, and strokes – the three leading killers of North Americans. Fats and cholesterol are particularly susceptible to free-radical damage.

Of all the antioxidants, vitamin E may offer the greatest protection against atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries because it is fat soluble and easily incorporated into the LDL cholesterol molecule. Vitamin E helps increase HDL (so-called "good" cholesterol) levels and reduce oxidation of LDL cholesterol.

Natural source vitamin E was first developed at the famous Shute Institute in London Ontario, Canada. The institute, established by vitamin E pioneers Drs. Evan and Wilfred Shute, has been researching and substantiating the cardiovascular health benefits of vitamin E since the 1940s.

Recent studies on vitamin E confirm what natural health practitioners have known for decades—Vitamin E is good for the heart - and that sex thing might be an added bonus.