What Is E-5000? Vita Flex E-5000 is a high quality vitamin E supplement for horses, concentrated to deliver a minimum of 5,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin E per ounce. Formulated with a special blend of yeast culture and alfalfa meal, E-5000 offers outstanding palatability, economy, and easy feeding. It is an ideal supplement for improving the availability of this important essential vitamin in the diets of horses. Free Radicals - The Price Of Oxygen Recent medical and nutritional research points to the importance of protecting the body from the damaging effects of oxidative radicals (also called free radicals). Radicals are molecules that have at least one unpaired electron, making them very unstable and reactive. One free radical can start a series of reactions that can quickly alter hundreds of other molecules and contribute to substantial tissue damage. Because the arrangement of electrons in oxygen is so unstable, free radicals are a common by-product of normal metabolism. They are produced in higher quantities when the animal is under stress from exercise, disease, or environmental or psychological factors. Dietary factors, such as increased amounts of polyunsaturated fats, excess iron, or deficiencies of certain trace minerals, may also increase free radical activity. Why Vitamin E? Antioxidants are natural substances produced by the body or supplied in the diet. They combine with free radicals to produce water and other stable products, stopping the chain of damaging oxidative reactions. Vitamin E, an essential fat soluble vitamin, is also an important antioxidant defender. Studies of growing and performing horses have led many equine nutritionists to recommend an increased dietary allowance for vitamin E. What Form Of Vitamin E Is Best? The fully active form of vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol) is very vulnerable to reactions with oxygen in the air that cause it to lose potency quickly. Esterified forms of vitamin E, on the other hand, are stable outside the body but are converted to the active form as they are absorbed through the intestinal wall. One of these, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, has been chosen by the World Health Organization as the universal standard for vitamin E potency. Vita Flex E-5000 is formulated exclusively with dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate for maximum shelf life and reliable potency. Recommended Feeding One-half to one ounce daily, or as directed by veterinarian. A one-half ounce scoop is provided.
