how much vit E for almond oil?

jhouse01 · Post by **jhouse01** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:41 pm

I am so sorry to bring up another oil question. . .but after reading some really long threads about it, my eyes are crossing as I post, and I still couldn't find out how many capsules of vit E to put in my almond oil (I have 16 oz).

If anyone knows, I'd appreciate the info . .

J House

gret · Post by **gret** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:24 pm

Hi J House,

I haven't read the threads you mention, but I expect there's no hard and fast rule about vitamin E.

Here's what I've done: I bought a 1 oz. eyedropper bottle, filled it with a mix of almond and olive oil, and added the contents of one vitamin E capsule. The bottle's been sitting in a drawer for over a month now, and the contents still smell just like almond and olive oil.

I'm guessing more experienced folks may have other approaches, but this has worked for me so far.

-- Margaret

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:24 pm

Somewhere I read that one capsule per ounce was the magic number. That is what I used with my 16 ounces. I am sure someone else will give an authoritative answer.

Ron

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:50 pm

I do not understand why people put vitamin E in almond oil. Good almond oil itself is a primary source of vitamin E.

m31 · Post by **m31** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:13 pm

Yeah but how does one know how much, if any Vitamin E is in the Almond oil? I got my bottle from a natural food store and it listed the vitamin content as 0%.

monkey587 · Post by **monkey587** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:32 am

I don't think it's anything to worry about as long as you play the flute on a regular basis.

treeshark · Post by **treeshark** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:56 am

I've never used almond oil with vitamin e, I just use the ordinary salad kind. 3 years on and no problems at all, no rancidity or anything untoward.

johnkerr · Post by **johnkerr** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:16 am

The only reason I've ever heard for adding Vitamin E to almond oil is to keep the oil from going rancid. 'Rancid' is a terrible sounding word, but all it really means is that the oil has gone 'off', and it's beginning to smell and taste bad. Now, consider why we as humans have the senses of taste and smell, which is to help us decide whether or not we want to ingest whatever it is that is giving off the taste and/or smell. Rancid oil, in the grand scheme of things, is not as bad a thing as rotten meat, and entire food cultures have developed around spicing food heavily to hide the taste of rotting meat and make it edible. People wouldn't be doing this if what they were eating was going to kill them, would they? The human body is tough and can adapt to conditions like this, and gain the nourishment it needs even from meat that has gone 'off'.

So what does this have to do with almond oil, Vitamin E and flutes, you ask? Well, rancidity and rotten-ness are not binary things, they proceed by degrees. Meat is not good one moment and rotten the next, and neither will oil all of a sudden go from good to rancid. It's more of a shelf-life thing actually, and all the Vitamin E does for the almond oil is extend its shelf life. You could put rancid oil on your flute and still get all the benefits you would from fresh oil, except that it wouldn't smell as good. If you ingest rancid oil, it's not going to make you sick or kill you. Even rancid almond oil probably smells better than the mineral-based woodwind bore oils you can buy at the music store.

Bottom line? Don't obsess over the Vitamin E thing if you're using almond oil on your flute. If you can find oil with Vitamin E already added, great. But if you can't, don't sweat it. What does a bottle of almond oil cost, anyway, four or five bucks for enough oil to last a decade if you're using it solely on a flute? You can store your oil in the refigerator and that will extend its shelf life just as the Vitamin E would, so do that. If you go to use the oil one day and it smells too bad, then buy another bottle. If you hate throwing out stuff that has gone bad because it's a waste, then start using the almond oil in your cooking as well as on your flute, and you might end up using the whole bottle before any of it goes bad. But just remember that the Vitamin E is for the benefit of you and your nose, not to help the flute. The almond oil itself, rancid or not, is all the wood really needs.

crookedtune · Post by **crookedtune** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:34 am

I confess I haven't read this thread in detail, or any of the others on this subject. FWIW, I have a bottle of almond oil that has been on my shelf for at least nine years. I've recently started using it again after not opening it for maybe four or five years. Smells as fresh as ever. This is normal, health food store almond oil, without vitamin additives. I'm not sure the oil goes "rancid" as easily as many fear.

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:52 am

Me too--never had this problem.

clark · Post by **clark** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:17 pm

Also I'm not sure what the evidence is that Vit E actually prevents rancidness. In a quick search I couldn't find any evidence (ie studies) supporting it's use as an oil preservative just lots of anectdotes. Sure Vit E is an antioxidant, but there are probably other reasons oil might go off that have nothing to do with oxidation. My guess is that air tight containers are just as effective as Vit E.

Clark

Juan Pablo Plata · Post by **Juan Pablo Plata** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:52 pm

Just play regularly the flute. Take care and ocasional oiling, but don´t worry. It seems to be neurotic people about this theme. Just enjoy!

gret · Post by **gret** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:44 am

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.

I'm a newbie like the OP'er and have found that it's very easy to get very neurotic about things like oil & swabs & cork grease &c. Even though the only wooden flutes I currently have are a couple of rosewood Sweethearts that are probably a lot tougher than I give them credit for.

That said, I do enjoy fussing over my flutes. I find it's a welcome antidote to days spent fussing over stack overflows and parity errors. So I will continue to insist on my Special Blend

. But I do appreciate the reassurance that I'm not doing any harm.

- Margaret

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 3:57 pm

I keep my almond oil in the fridge. I keep the expensive olive oil in the fridge too, insted of on a shelf. Don't know how long the cold will keep it, but it doesn't go rancid quick.

talasiga · Post by **talasiga** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:57 pm

talasiga wrote:I do not understand why people put vitamin E in almond oil. Good almond oil itself is a primary source of vitamin E.

I have been using almond oil for about 35 years for oiling flutey things made of wood or bamboo. I have used it in summer winter and autumn England, autumn Ireland, dry winter sub tropical part of India, the tropical Pacific Islands, hot dry inland Australia, sub tropic moist coastal Australia, misty moisty chilly willy Melbourne winters, searing hot dry windy aussie summers - 35 years in all. Never had problems with rancidity.

As I keep saying (and the insight is not mine) almond oil has the highest monounsaturate content of any commonly available oil (other than olive oil). Monounsaturate is the most HEAT STABLE (resistant to rancidity on account of heat) of any of the unsaturate group of hydrocarbons.

The jury on vitamin oil added to almond oil is not out because there is no jury because there is no case.