Why I Need Vitamin E

Around the year 1900 the average American received at least 100 I.U. (international units) of natural Vitamin E each day. The primary source for Vitamin E was stone ground whole wheat bread. However, in the late 1800's the rolling mill was invented and this machine separated the wheat germ from the wheat bran leaving only the kernel. This provided nice white flour and it became very popular. However, this milling process removed many of the vital nutrients essential to our bodies, including the majority of the Vitamin E, as the wheat germ and wheat bran contained these nutrients.

Stone ground wheat also turned rancid very quickly and by removing the wheat germ and wheat bran, the product could be packaged in five or ten pound packages and kept for indefinite periods of time. This made the product much easier to store and sell, but it also robbed the body of some very essential nutrients.

Besides breads, Vitamin E has been taken out of virtually all foods found at grocery stores as the Vitamin E will cause the food to turn rancid much more quickly which diminishes the shelf life of the products. Vitamin E is the only substance that is not added back into most foods as this creates a significant problem in the distribution and shelf life of these products.

Roy Erickson, founder of A.C. Grace Company, saw the direct link between the increase of heart disease and the stripping of Vitamin E from our foods. In the year 1900 there were very few cases of heart disease. Since that time (about the same time as the invention of the rolling mill) heart disease has increased and it is now the number one killer in America. Mr. Erickson firmly believed if everyone took Vitamin E, it would change the health of America!

Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England conducted a study of 2,000 patients with heart disease. "Consuming Vitamin E supplements reduced the disease by 75%," said Dr. Jan Breslow, American Heart Association president. "Now we can confidently say that Vitamin E protects against heart attacks," said Professor Morris Brown, lead researcher on the Cambridge study. "I will be recommending that patients with angina and those who are at risk of heart disease should be given supplementary Vitamin E at high doses," he concluded.