MARCH 14, 2011 TOCOTRIENOLS

"Without the ones who irritate us, we never have a chance to practice"

I find this quote quite funny. We all have irritating individuals in our lives. It might be family members or friends. We all need an irritating individual to push our buttons. How would we learn if we didn't have anyone to push our buttons. Sure, politics, religion, and sexual differences push buttons. Use that irritating button pushing individual in your life as your spring board back to good emotional health. I have no need for any more 'irritating button pushers'. I have plenty in my life. The way I deal with these individuals is far better than it used to be.

Actually some are already eliminated from my life because these individuals are in the 'freezer'. That is my terminology for elimination by cold temperatures. These individuals have less than desirable characteristics and I have frozen them out of my life. I do pray for them. Everyone needs a little prayer now and then. It is good karma for you. You can now practice breathing, visual imagery and meditation before encounters with your button pushers. You can practice patience. You can practice not answering too quickly. No reaction, but new action on your part. The new you will be noticed.

There is clinical evidence indicating that atherosclerosis is caused by chronic low levels of antioxidants, specifically Vitamin C. There is a wide body of evidence advocating the use of Vitamin C for a variety of conditions. Another heavily studied antioxidant is Vitamin E. There are studies indicating Vitamin E benefits for cardiovascular disease and other studies showing no benefit for cardiovascular disease. I think it is equally important to read, study and examine all studies, both pro and con. Evans and Bishop discovered Vitamin E in 1922. Vitamin E is not a single substance and should never be used as a single tocopherol. It should be consumed as tocotrienols. The studies that use a single tocopherol are not valid. The complex tocotrienols should be used. Tocotrienols have a chemical double bond which gives them different properties. The main difference is that the tocotrienols (alpha, beta , gamma, and delta) spread out and disperse within cell membranes instead of clumping like the tocopherols do. I only use tocotrienols.

There has been a three year study using tocotrienols to reduce heart disease. It was a double blind study. It was a small study group, but ultrasound and platelet oxidation was measured. The study did show that tocotrienols help prevent cholesterol molecules sticking to the plaque. This is same mechanism that Linus Pauling proposed for Vitamin C.

I have used both therapies for heart disease. Both Vitamin C and E are antioxidants with Vitamin E being fat soluble, thus able to stay in the body for longer periods of time. I feel from studying research and my clinical experience that these two vitamins work synergistically.

I have seen synergistic action with herbs. I have better results when I used both meadowsweet and marshmellow together for irritable bowel disease then using both alone.

I feel there should be a double blind study of either tocotrienols and/or Vitamin C with conventional treatments for heart disease. It seems there are too few follow up studies once a theory is generally accepted. Likely because the pharmaceutical companies could not make money from results comparing vitamin E or C with a conventional medications. Instead it would result in the loss of billions of dollars in drug sales if Vitamin C and/or tocotrienols had better results.

The NIH is conducting a study, TACT, Trial to Access Chelation Therapy for treatment for cardiovascular disease. A large number of patients are involved and it has been running more than 7 plus years to date. All are waiting for the results of this study later this year.

My message: Use tocotrienols.

Until tomorrow..