Thorne Ultimate-E Review

Thorne Ultimate-E gives vitamin E at a full dose, above the amount used in studies and above the daily recommended limit, so members may choose to take less. The evidence for vitamin E and bone health is mixed. A large review of 43 trials in women after menopause ranked vitamin E best at lowering a blood marker of bone breakdown ^[1]. In 52 women after menopause with low bone density, 400 international units a day of mixed vitamin E forms for 12 weeks prevented a rise in that marker seen with placebo ^[2]. Long-term studies linked more vitamin E from food to a 34% lower fracture risk, but these did not test supplements ^[3]. A genetic study of about 427,000 people linked higher vitamin E levels to denser bones but not to fewer fractures ^[4]. On the other side, in older men doing strength training, vitamin E plus vitamin C blunted bone density gains, especially at the hip ^[5]. An antioxidant mix containing vitamin E did not prevent bone loss in men during 60 days of bed rest ^[6]. Many positive studies tested vitamin E together with other treatments. Animal and cell studies are never counted.

Vitamin E gets a mixed reception from the panel: two use it, one recommends it, one warns against it, and the other six are mostly neutral, though several of those also give advice. Those who like it take it for cell protection, skin, hair, healthy aging, and as part of a multivitamin or a fat soluble vitamin blend, and some prefer whole food or mixed tocopherol and tocotrienol forms over plain alpha-tocopherol. Cautions are common: two warn against synthetic vitamin E for long-term use, one points to worse outcomes from high doses, one says to avoid it for a week before surgery because it can thin the blood, one says it can dull workout adaptation (with a 335 mg dose named for people under 50), and one says a balanced diet makes it unnecessary. Nobody reported stopping it, and the only dose given for use was 10 IU per ml in a topical hair formula.