Good Quality Vitamin E

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
Hello all,

I have been experimenting extensively on myself with various brands of tocopherols, and I would like to share my experience. Unfortunately, my experience with the Unique E brand of mixed tocopherols is NOT very positive. Initially (about 2 years ago) I had a very positive reaction to the supplement but then I noticed that I don't get the energy and libido boost any more. Since I was careful with isolating the supplementation and was only taking Unique E at the time, I suspected that something changed in the supplement. I called the vendor and the sales rep confirmed that the formulation changed but she could not be more specific. I myself noticed that the color of the pills became much lighter. The original container I had bought back in 2010 had pills with very dark amber color with some hints of red. That's how pure vitamin E should look like, and I still keep some of those pills for reference.
The Unique E I bought recently has pills that are much lighter in color, I'd say somewhere between dark yellow and light brown. Very, very different from what I used to buy. So, I bought several bottle of Unique E from different stores just to confirm that it's not an isolated bottle that just happens to be bad. All of them had the same issue, but this still leaves the possibility that it is a bad batch.
I contacted the vendor again and asked for a Certificate of Analysis (COA). The vendor politely declined, but when I started asking about their testing methods and what is the purity of the supplement the sales rep became openly hostile and said something along the lines of "So what's the problem if we add some vegetable oil to the pills? Everybody's doing it and our supplement has the lowest amount of any vendor".
The problem for me is that there is no way to get info on how much is "some vegetable oil". Is it 10%, or 30% or 50%?
So, I did some extensive research and found some other vendors of certifiably pure mixed tocopherols, and the vendor actually offers a COA. Here is the link:
http://www.lotioncrafter.com/vitamin-e- ... ls-95.html

The tocopherols are 95% concentration and I can confirm that the product has the same high viscosity, dark amber/reddish color, and subtle taste that the original Unique E formula had. I have attached the COA the vendor sent me.
Just in case somebody thinks that I am pitching a specific product/website, here are some other sources of high concentration tocopherols:
http://www.bulknaturaloils.com/Products ... erols.aspx
http://tkoskin.3dcartstores.com/Vitamin-E_p_57.html

I ordered from all 3 vendors, and the energy/libido results came right back! The results are more pronounced with one of the products but I won't share which one until some other people have had a chance to order and test on themselves. Then we can compare unbiased results.

Anyways, just wanted to share my (not so positive) experience with Unique E (both the company and the product) and provide some additional sources of high concentration tocopherols. I'd be happy to hear other people share their experience as well. I keep searching for quality supplements, so if I find something worth mentioning I will share it with the forum.
 

Attachments

  • COA_Vitamin_E_Mixed_Tocopherols_95_100551-3386.pdf
    43.1 KB · Views: 383
J

j.

Guest
So the ******* ***holes are adding vegetable oil, the thing I want to avoid?
 

Beebop

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
289
Useful information, thanks for taking the time to ask the company and tell us about it. Just as well I've held off from buying any Vit E!

It would be good to know if anyone gets these sent to the UK successfully and/or finds a UK source of similar quality stuff.
 

jyb

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
2,783
Location
UK
http://www.nhrorganicoils.com/products.php?id=3687

This is another manufacturer (sells to USA/Europe). You can find the certificate of analysis on the page for download. The picture of the bottle is interesting, the oil seems to separate into two colors.

How can you tell from the certificate of analysis that there's no added oil?
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
j. said:
So the f***ing ***holes are adding vegetable oil, the thing I want to avoid?

Son of a gun. :banghead

haidut, :hattip

I am truly grateful that you have brought this to our attention. My Unique E bottle is just running out, and I will not be using it anymore. And will be ordering what you suggested and let everyone know how it goes.
 

jyb

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2012
Messages
2,783
Location
UK
Is it really possible for them to add a significant amount of oil without listing in the ingredients? I am aware that some stuff doesn't get disclosed if in a tiny quantity (which can nevertheless cause problems), and that's legal, but what you're saying is an entirely different thing.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
It definitely does not say anything about added oils on the label, I just checked. That being said, they can do whatever they want.

I will be trying a different brand to see if I notice better results.
 

Gabriel

Member
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
229
Maybe they'll change the formulation if enough people complain via e-mail?
 
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
Maybe I made too strong of a statement.
My experience with Unique E was that the good effects I was feeling from it, while taking only that supplement, suddenly disappeared and the pills changed in appearance. So, I tried to contact the vendor and inquire if the formula had changed. The sales rep said that the formula had indeed changed but did not specify how/when. I noticed the change back in mid 2011, across multiple bottles from multiple stores. When I asked for COA I was basically yelled at and lectured how every vendor adds vegetable oil and Unique E has the least.
So, I was not able to confirm how much oil is added and what kind, but rather that something changed in the formula and the vendor won't divulge what or provide a COA, which most companies claiming to sell a high-purity supplement would provide anyways. A good example is Relenltess Improvement and their vitamin K capsules. They provide a COA to prove that the capsules is almost entirely menatetrenone without much additives.
Anyways, the COA for that one vendor I listed says the tocopherols are at least 95% purity so that leaves very little room for any other oils. Given I take 2000mg on a regular basis, every dose leaves at most 100mg for other vegetable oils and that is very little to be concerned about. It also says that there are no other chemical additives.
Physically - the color, viscosity and taste of Unique E is VERY different from any of the products I got from the 3 vendors I listed, and that tells me either the tocopherol mixture is different or there are other substances in the Unique E that I cannot identify. Regardless, the driving force behind my investigation and ordering from different vendors was that I stopped feeling physically good from taking the Unique E product. When I took the product from any of the other 3 vendors I felt immediately better. Obviously, this is very subjective and unlike the blood test that I did for myself when testing the libido formula with zinc, BCAA, etc I did not do a test for Unique E only. So, there is a chance that the product is fine and I am just a weirdo that does not react well to it. But the fact that the vendor won't provide a COA or explain what has changed in the formula, leaves me guessing and that is not a good thing for any vendor.
I think the best option is for people to order from different vendors and share their experience. If the vendors can provide COAs for their products then even better. Also, just from a hedging perspective we need to have multiple sources of quality vitamin E rather than just rely on one company.
Not trying to bash a specific vendor. Just sharing my experience and alternative sources. If someone wants to try to convince Unique E to provide a COA that would be great. This will end all speculation.
Thanks to all for the comments!
 
J

j.

Guest
haidut, are all those you mentioned liquid versions? do you know of something that comes in pill-like versions?
 
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
j. said:
haidut, are all those you mentioned liquid versions? do you know of something that comes in pill-like versions?

Yes all these tocopherol supplements are in liquid form. I have not been able to find capsulated tocopherol of such purity. The closest I was able to find is a product by a Canadian company and it is made from wheat germ oil, which is what vitamin E used to be extracted from a century ago. I was so excited when I found it but unfortunately it seems to have been discontinued by the manufacturer. I have no idea why the vendor would discontinue a product that was wildly popular and sold out within days of releasing a batch. Her ies the link to the Canadian pharmacy that used to sell it.
Http://www.pharmacenter.ca

The website was up and running up until a week ago but now it seems down. However you can still get the cached version from google. Just search google for "pharmacenter vitamin e soy free" and click on the cached link. Scroll down the page and find the product that says it is made from wheat germ oil and is soy free. You can see the vendor and the labelso feel free to find other vendors that sell it and share with the forum. I called that pharmacy multiple time and they kept promising that someone will check on availability and get back to me. Well nobody ever called me back.
Anyways, that has been my experience so far. Maybe someone here will luckier and find a pure vitamin E in capsules, prefrrably not sourced from soy.
 

Dan W

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,528
You rock, haidut.

I happen to have older and newer bottles of the A.C. Grace liquid version:
unique-e-liquid-comparison.jpeg


Unless the darker color on the older batch is due to oxidation/aging (or the oil settling) I think you're right about the formulation changing. And I don't think the former is the case, because the newer oil looks different than I'm used to.

Any objections to me putting up a page about your discovery, along with the alternative manufacturers? Then I can send it to A.C. Grace as gentle encouragement to improve :D
 
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
Dan Wich said:
You rock, haidut.

I happen to have older and newer bottles of the A.C. Grace liquid version:
unique-e-liquid-comparison.jpeg


Unless the darker color on the older batch is due to oxidation/aging (or the oil settling) I think you're right about the formulation changing. And I don't think the former is the case, because the newer oil looks different than I'm used to.

Any objections to me putting up a page about your discovery, along with the alternative manufacturers? Then I can send it to A.C. Grace as gentle encouragement to improve :D


By all means, if you think we can convince AC Grace to improve their product then I am all for it. I think our ultimate goal should be to have a list of 3-4 vendors offering high purity vitamin E so that no single company gets tempted to tamper with their product b/c of perceived monopoly over the market. I will keep searching for more tocopherol vendors and share with the forum. Maybe, as you just demonstrated, we can keep pictures of various product batches for vendors that do not offer a COA.
Anyways, great suggestion and let me know if you any specific info from me to petition AC Grace.
 
J

j.

Guest
haidut said:
I have not been able to find capsulated tocopherol of such purity.

Is it possible to take a small dose, like 400 IU, in the liquid form?
 
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
Sure, thats how much I started with and gradually increased the dosage to the level where I felt that adding more does not make me feel any better. You can buy a medical spoon that measures 1ml and take half such spoon for approximately 500mg. Tocopherol density is very close to water so taking a volume of 0.5ml equates roughly to 0.5g, which is of course 500mg. Btw the dose of 500mg is more than 400iu, in fact divide 500mg by 0.67 and you will get the dose in IU. But my point is that by getting a spoon that measures 1ml you can more easily approximate the 400iu dosage better than using a teaspoon. An alternative that I am actually using is to buy a set of espresso spoons, and those I think also measure 1ml. I got mine from Macys but most convenience stores sell them as well.
 

Dan W

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,528
haidut said:
I think our ultimate goal should be to have a list of 3-4 vendors offering high purity vitamin E so that no single company gets tempted to tamper with their product b/c of perceived monopoly over the market.
Agreed. I'm still a little fuzzy on the ideal form (someone told me that Peat liked the succinate form in at least one case), so I need to do some reading.

5magicbeans said:

I get the impression Peat prefers to leave out the tocotrienols, see this discussion.


haidut said:
I got mine from Macys but most convenience stores sell them as well.
For those of us who prefer not to leave the house, I ordered this spoon set where 2 "dashes" is roughly 400IU (by my sloppy calculations).

Jenn said:
Or if your a country bumpkin like me, the feed store sells 3 cc syringes for a quarter. ;) 1 cc=1 ml
I...wish I had thought of that.
 

Dan W

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
1,528
I've got a product comparison page up:
http://www.toxinless.com/mixed-tocopherol-vitamin-e

It doesn't have that much to add to the products we've already found, but I fleshed out some details, and I'll try to keep it up-to-date as we find more manufacturers. I'm also going to send it to A.C. Grace; it'd be nice to continue to be able to trust them for "off-the-shelf" type products.
 

Similar threads

J
Replies
2
Views
2K
J
Back
Top Bottom