Vitamin E and Anti-Aging

The mystery of aging has fascinated man since antiquity. From the search for the fountain of youth to magical formulas, man has sought to return to his youth. Time always moves forward. It is a law of physics. Living things, whether they are bacteria, fish, dogs, or people grow old. Aging is a natural result of being alive. Over time our immune systems are less efficient, are cells accumulate damage, certain brain regions show decreased signs of activity, and our cardiac arteries and veins accumulate plaque, and eventually we die like every other living thing that ever existed.

But, what if we could slow down our aging rate? What if we could be youthful for a longer period of time? What if we could live longer? What would you do with your life if you had another 10, 20 , or even 30 years? Imagine how different our lives would be. It would be nice to spend a greater time of our lives with our children or other loved ones, or even our great grandchildren, or great-great-grandchildren. These expectations may seem unrealistic. But, in science anything is possible. Although, if we could gain just a year, then maybe taking a supplement that would potentially increase longevity would be well worth it.

In 1998, I conducted a series of experiments with single celled organisms, which are technically known as Paramecium tetraurelia in my Master's Thesis (1999). Some of these organisms were given a form a vitamin E known as alpha-tocopherol acetate. Another group was given a daily dose of vitamin E alpha-tocopherol. The third group was not given any form of vitamin E . All groups were exactly the same, except whether they were supplemented daily with vitamin E alpha-tocopherol acetate, vitamin E alpha-tocopherol, or no form of vitamin E at all. At about 3 months, the groups that were given vitamin E alpha-tocopherol acetate, or nothing at all, died. The remaining group, the one that was supplemented with vitamin E alpha-tocopherol went on to live an additional 3 months, which is double the lifespan of a normal sample of Paramecium tetraaurelia. This was incredible! Why was there this difference in longevity? Does this mean that people who take certain quantities of vitamin E alpha-tocopherol can benefit from increased longevity? The implications are amazing, yet the results of the experiment remain generally unknown to this day! Maybe, humans could live longer by supplementing their diets with vitamin E alpha-tocopherol in sufficient quantities.

Well for now, let's go back to the experiment. The question is why the group of cells given vitamin E alpha-tocopherol outlived the other groups by double. A theory of aging, may provide the answer. The theory is the Free Radical Theory of Aging. This theory suggests that free radicals are generated in the body from eating and breathing, naturally, resulting in aging of the body. A free radical is a substance that is missing an electron. To put it another way, a free radical is like a runaway vehicle with no driver on a highway causing extensive damage to the freeway. Vitamin E alpha-tocopherol can restore this missing electron to the free radical, stabilizing it. Following the previous example, vitamin E alpha-tocopherol is like a factor that restores the control of the car, like placing a human behind the wheel. When this happens, the highway is no longer damaged, because a person takes control of the vehicle. In terms of the body, when the free radical is given an electron it no longer attacks the body, and ultimately the body lives longer. Vitamin E alpha-tocopherol is able to give an electron, because of its structure. Alpha-tocopherol acetate is unable to give an electron due to its structure. So a simple structural difference between the two types of vitamin E may account for the difference in how long the groups lived.

I was fascinated by these results. I decided to take extremely high doses of vitamin E alpha-tocopherol over a period of time. I took vitamin E alpha-tocopherol supplements for a period of about 1 year, increasing the dosage every month. In the last couple of months of the experiment, I was taking 20,000 milligrams of vitamin E alpha-tocopherol daily. I had gone through millions of milligrams of vitamin E before I ended up toxic. Vitamin E alpha-tocopherol is what is defined as a fat soluble vitamin. It is stored naturally in fat tissue. If you over consume vitamin E it will be stored in your fatty tissue. One difference between the self experiment, and the experiment with the paramecium, was the alcohol factor. In the experiment with paramecium, they were also given small amounts of ethanol. I wonder, if I would have been able to tolerate a high dose of vitamin E longer, if I had just consumed one glass of wine every night. The ethanol has the effect of breaking down the fatty globules of vitamin E in the circulatory system. One does not need to go to the extremes that I went to in myself experimentation to potentially see increases in lifespan. Small vitamin E alpha-tocopherol samples of approximately 400 mg a day , would probably be a safe level for most of us to take daily. All of us are different biochemically. Some of us can take higher than this dose without ill affect, a few others may need to reduce the dose. Consuming no more than a 100 mg of vitamin E alpha-tocopherol daily should be safe for almost all of us. Vitamin E alpha-tocopherol has not only shown itself potentially increase longevity, but it also has beneficial effects on the skin and immune system. It was discovered in 1922, known as "Factor X". It was noted for its ability to prevent spontaneous abortions in mice. So, people may also benefit by taking vitamin E, especially if couples wish to have children.

So does vitamin E alpha-tocopherol increase longevity in humans ? Well first let's look at how we differ from single cells. Humans have circulatory systems, where single cells do not. Humans have complex organs, and organ systems. Single cells do not contain blood, organs, or organ systems. People and paramecium do have one very important feature in common. We are all made of cells. Humans are composed of over 200 trillion cells, while a paramecium is a one celled organism. So reasoning this out; if single cells lived longer on vitamin E alpha-tocopherol, then humans who are composed of many more cells should also potentially live longer.

Costello, J.. 1999. The Effect of Vitamin E Acetate on Clonal Life Span in Paramecium tetraurelia. M.S. thesis., Northeastern Illinois University.