Frailty and vitamin E

Frailty and vitamin E means looking for whole-grains, seeds and nuts to eat.

Vitamin E is also found in many coloured foods like sweet potatoes, our greens and avocados too.

This chapter is about caring better for the temple where God dwells, the Christian's body; it focuses on the eight different forms of vitamin E and how they compete with each other for absorption. Only two have been researched; they are the alpha and gamma-isomers. Both are important; and it is presumed the other six are too.

A cross in your kitchen

Caring for the temple by eating properly and caring for our bodies generally is an essential part of spirituality; almost completely neglected in Christian teaching.

Our human frames are not something carnal, to be flayed but the very temples of Almighty God; it is our sacred duty to nurture them.

Taking a supplement of only alpha-tocopherol means there will be a deficiency of the other seven isomers; rather get them all naturally from your food. Then you are far more likely to get all eight and greatly improve the chance of not experiencing frailty long before your time.

British-women can expect to spend a massive quarter of their lives with a disability; and a fifth for males says Dr Daniel Levitin, a leading neuroscientist; much has to do with the food we eat. These folk are well on their way to becoming frail.

Frailty syndrome is defined by three of these five-features.

1. Low grip-strength
2. Slowed walking-speed
3. Low energy-levels
4. Physical inactivity
5. Unintentional weight-loss

Disabled people, often in pain become frail long before their time.

Born again

There are two-sets of standards when it comes to power, money and greed. Sex and even food come into the equation too.

Those of the world and the Christian faith are quite different most would agree. Having said that, not many Believers would be in conflict over eating a hefty slice of chocolate-cake and drinking colas several times a week. Brother Ass just loves his sweet treats.

The tongue is a fire

The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body; it corrupts not only the church at large but also our own mortal-frame.

There are two parts of the tongue. One is motor enabling us to speak, chew and help with swallowing. The other is sensory; both to feel the texture of our food and the special sense of taste.

Both the motor and sensory parts need to be born again, or both the local body and Brother-Ass will be tormented and become frail.

The natural corrupted way of the flesh is to love mainly those foods that are both sweet and slide smoothly down our throats; but they have no vitamin E. It is the unrefined-grain where the goodness is found and the unsaved tongue abhors it; give me cake flour and plenty of added sugar because it is tasteless.

Frailty and vitamin E

Frailty and vitamin E is to be taken seriously if we are to avoid an early-slip into pain and disability. It has eight different isomers.

• Four tocopherols: alpha, beta and gamma; and delta.
• Four tocotrienols: again alpha, beta and gamma; and a delta form.

Only two of these isomers have been extensively studied, namely the alpha and gamma tocopherol forms of vitamin-E. They have very different functions in the body and compete with each other for absorption.

Buckwheat is the king of vitamin E, with the best overall mix of the eight different isomers, but unrefined-wheat, barley and rye are all good; and oats too.

The RDA is only known for alpha tocopherol; 15mg or 22 international units.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the RDA of each of the eight-isomers is 15mg. Only those who are fanatical about unrefined grain in their diet are likely to consume enough to escape premature frailty; or to put it differently, an early decline of the fit and strong years.

According to Dr Daniel Levitin, a top neuroscientist, British women can expect to live a quarter of their lives with a disability, and a fifth for men. 

If you swallow a capsule which is virtually always a very large amount of alpha-tocopherol, then the absorption of the other seven is inhibited; do not take vitamin E as a supplement. Get it from your food.

Prostate gland

Only the gamma-tocopherol form mops up the free radicals that cause metastatic disease of the prostate gland.

Taking the alpha form of vitamin E actually increases the likelihood of a prostate neoplasm, causing a particularly nasty form of frailty; the inability to empty the bladder fully, disturbing sleep and wellness.

There is also research showing that taking only the alpha-form in a supplement will aggravate or cause the blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa.

Function of vitamin E

It is an anti-oxidant that protects our cells from the damaging free-radicals that cause cardiovascular and malignant disease.

It is an anti-coagulant that stops clots from forming and adhering to the inner lining of blood vessels.

It dilates the arterioles lowering blood-pressure.

It enhances the immune-system making us less susceptible to a host of diseases like the coronavirus.

And the bran in the whole grains where one quarter of the vitamin E is found provides the friendly bugs in our tums with the nourishment they need to enable them to do their so-important work; the rest is located in the germ^[1].

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Vitamin E protects us against frailty

• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood pressure
• Stroke
• Malignant neoplasms
• Immunodeficient diseases
  

Gamma-tocopherol foods

The foods that provide the gamma tocopherol form of vitamin E are in the main whole grains, young green beans and freshly-shelled nuts.

Freshly-ground sesame and flax seeds are an excellent source. Using tahini as in homemade hummus is recommended. It is all about preventing frailty with vitamin E.

And the other three vitamins too, of course, are just as important in preventing frailty; B6, C and folate.

Alpha-tocopherol foods

Half an avocado weighs about 100 grams, containing 150 mg/kg of the alpha form of vitamin E. That amounts to 15 mg which is the RDA. The fatty acids along with those from the olive qualify for the very best of essential oils we cannot live without.

1 TBSP of sunflower seeds weighs about 20 grams containing 6 mg, or nearly half of the alpha-form of vitamin E. Note that the solvent extracted oil has very little; it has been oxidised.

100 percent wholemeal wheat-flour is another rich form, but the vitamin E is soon lost after grinding. You must have your own mill, or access to one; it is located in both the bran and the germ.

Notice the change in colour; above is 100 percent just-ground flour, but below is the best locally available whole-grain meal. It is certainly partly refined. We have no idea when it was milled and whether it contains any vitamin E or not, and if it will help prevent the premature onset of frailty.

Almonds and peanuts are other good sources of vitamin E. Here various mixed seeds are being ground in preparation for baking our artisan-bread, using only 100% wholemeal flour.

Consider frailty and vitamin E well; think about prevention.

Dark green leafy vegetables too have a surprising amount of alpha-tocopherol. Kale, spinach and rocket are favourites; other herbs and onion tops too.

These are a few alternatives to the usual lettuce. Notice in particular the bloody-sorrel with the prominent red veins that is so easy to grow, robust and resistant to mould.

Butternut, sweet potatoes and peppers all have significant amounts of vitamin E. Rather than fussing, we just need to make sure we are daily enjoying a large variety of coloured-vegetables.

One average-sized sweet potato contains one quarter of your daily needs for vitamin E, and a host of cartenoids, all important in preventing frailty.

This easy butternut and sweet potato soup should be enjoyed at least weekly when they are in season. Actually two-tablespoons added to the dough of bread improves the texture and flavour.

100-percent wholemeal bread provides a host of substances including the vitamin E that is so important in preventing the premature onset of frailty.

Seven coloured foods every day

Seven or more coloured foods enjoyed daily have been scientifically proven to lessen the risk from all causes of death by a massive 33-percent. In part it is the tocopherols and trienols that keep us from that disabling frailty of weakness, loss of weight and overall vigour.

In summary we should be enjoying some of these foods daily.

• 100 percent whole grains like brown rice and wholemeal flour, corn on the cob.
  
• Freshly-ground seeds and nuts.
• Many coloured-foods.
• Dark-green leafy vegetables. Notice that Iceberg lettuce does not qualify.
  
• Avocados
• Sweet-potatoes

Shall we now bake our sourdough bread made with various seeds and nuts? We will show you that you can mix the ingredients including grinding the wheat in less than five-minutes. When it comes to frailty and vitamin E we must think about prevention.

If living around a quarter of your life with a painful disability does not appeal to you, think on these kinds of foods. If for no other reason, do it because your body is the temple of the Holy-Spirit if you are a Christian.

Care well for the dwelling place of Almighty God; he does not live in buildings made with hands. Frailty and vitamin E is a subject that cannot be lightly dismissed.

Breakfast

Research clearly shows that those who are pre-diabetic or have the full blown disease should eat a low carb breakfast; insulin resistance is at its highest in the morning. That means no cereals, oats porridge or grits.

With 10% of adults enjoying typical grocery store food now being fully diabetic, half of them not knowing it, plus those who have early problems with blood glucose control, we all have to take this seriously.

Best of all would be for every adult to ask their doctor if they could wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for ten days to test how they respond to eating different starches.

The implications are huge for frailty and vitamin E; most is found in whole grains. Can you eat steel-cut oats or grits for breakfast? For the 80% it would be highly beneficial; but for those battling to manage blood glucose it would be equally detrimental.

Only a HbA1_c test or the CGM will provide conclusive evidence of where you stand in regard to diabetes; something will all should certainly know. Talk to your general practitioner.

• A breakfast rich in vitamin E
  

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