When scientists bother to use real vitamin E, they get results! A 2009 study with real vitamin E found it slowed breast cancer growth and may even prevent breast cancer.

Real vitamin E is composed of 4 tocopherols: alpha, beta, delta, and gamma tocopherols, yet most studies are done with d-alpha-tocopherol alone, or worse, with synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol.

The authors of the 2009 study begin by saying that previous studies had found alpha-tocopherol unhelpful in protecting against cancer. However, when they administered all four tocopherols together (“mixed tocopherols”) in concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5%, breast tumor growth in rats bred to develop breast cancer was suppressed by 38%, 50% and 80% respectively. In their study, they found delta and gamma tocopherols, but not alpha-tocopherol, antagonized estrogen action in breast cancer.

As Dr. Jonathan Wright pointed out in an article referring to this study, antagonizing estrogen action in breast cancer is the goal of many drugs used in breast cancer treatment, all of which have a variety of possible toxic side effects. Natural vitamin E as mixed tocopherols, on the other hand, has no known adverse effects. He also says that while this experiment was conducted with rats, it’s highly likely that it applies to humans.

As mentioned in the previous article, synthetic vitamin E has been used in countless studies to vilify vitamin E. One of the studies even found synthetic vitamin E increased prostate cancer. As a result, sales of vitamin E have been in decline, especially as doctors are now hesitant to recommend it.

This is a real shame. As also reported in the above article, government surveys found 61% of the US population deficient in vitamin E, and the standards used in these surveys are way below what most experts in nutrition say are needed for optimal health. In today’s toxic world, we desperately need extra antioxidant protection, and vitamin E is one of our most important antioxidant supplements. Most people, especially those with any kind of cardiovascular problems, should be taking supplemental E, and it should be part of any anti-cancer protocol. But it must be natural, not synthetic vitamin E.

Even most natural forms of vitamin E still aren’t the best you can do, because most contain one-third to one-half vegetable oil (usually soybean oil). This oil can become rancid, creating health-damaging free radicals