Vitamin E protects the heart, improves the immune system, protects against cataracts and may even be of service in the fight against cancer and Alzheimer's Disease.
What is Vitamin E?
A fat soluble vitamin, vitamin E is dissolved in fat, and is carried throughout the bloodstream and body attached to lipids. It is stored in adipose tissue, so a daily dose is not critical. As opposed to other fat soluble vitamins like A and D, vitamin E has not been shown to be toxic in high doses. People on anti-coagulant therapy, however, such as those who take the medication
Coumadin, should be cautious about vitamin E intake. They may be increasing their risk of bleeding if they are also taking high doses of vitamin E, and/or fish oil tablets.
Vitamins E is actually a group of substances known as tocopherols and tocotrienols. The amount of vitamin E present in food or tissue is stated in terms of alpha-tocopherol equivalents (TE) or as International units (IU). Alpha tocopherol is the most potent form, as compared to the beta, gamma, and delta tocopherol forms. Research indicates that natural vitamin E is more potent and also better retained by the body than synthetic E.
How Much do I Need?
The adult RDA is 8 to 10 milligrams of vitamin E. This is easy to achieve with diet alone. However, there is considerable research that suggests supplemental vitamin E for its antioxidant protection, at levels of 100 to 400
IU. Following a low-fat diet would make this level difficult, and copious amounts of oil would need to be consumes to reach these therapeutic levels.
What are Food Sources of Vitamin E?
What Health Problems are Aided by Vitamin E?
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