Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, which is made up of different tocopherols. Normally the amount of vitamin E is referred to as alpha-tocopherol equivalents, as alpha-tocopherol is the tocopherol which is stored in our body in the highest amounts, and is therefore chosen as the reference.
But vitamin E is more than just alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E covers 4 different tocopherols and 4 tocotrienols. Each group is divided into alpha, beta, gamme and delta. They also come in natural forms "d-" and synthetic forms "dl-". The natural forms are more active in our body. Only the natural forms of the tocopherols are used Berthelsen Natural Vitamin E, which (probably) makes it the only supplement on the Danish market with all 4 tocopherols in natural form.
Vitamin E contributes to:
- protect the cells against oxidative stress
Vitamin E is an important antioxidant in our body, which protects the cells against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress covers the mechanics in our body, where especially the unsaturated fatty acids react with oxygen molecules, which makes the fatty acids rancid. Oxidative stress can also be damaging to DNA structures, proteins and various minerals, which can harm the cellular signalling.
Oxidative stress can be explained as an imbalance in our body between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are atoms or molecules, which are missing an electron, and they are therefore very reactive, trying to steal electrons from another atom or molecule. The atom which gets its electron stolen will now be a new free radical, trying to steal their missing electron back.
Antioxidants, such as vitamin E, prevent oxidative stress by giving away a free electron to a radical, thereby stopping the chain reaction. All antioxidants share a stable structure, even if they give away an electron, which stops the reaction.
