Sources of Vitamin E
- The richest sources of vitamin E are cold-pressed crude vegetable oils, especially wheat germ, sunflower seeds, safflower, and soya bean oils.
- Eggs, butter, raw or sprouted seeds, and grains – especially whole wheat – are moderately good sources.
- Meats, fruits, and green leafy vegetables provide small quantities of this vitamin.
Functions of Vitamin E
- The main functions and benefits of vitamin E are to help protect the functioning of cells and the intracellular processes.
- Vitamin E oxygenates the tissues and reduces the need for oxygen intake markedly.
- Vitamin E is essential for normal reproductive functions, fertility, and physical vigor.
- Vitamin E prevents unsaturated fatty acids, sex hormones, and fat-soluble vitamins from being destroyed in the body by oxygen.
- Vitamin E dilates the capillaries and enables the blood to flow freely into blood-deficient muscle tissue, thus strengthening both the tissues and the nerves supplying them. It dissolves blood clots and also prevents their formation. It does not, however, interfere with the normal clotting of blood.
- It prevents the formation of excessive scar tissues and in some instances, even melts away unwanted scar tissue. It also promotes urine secretion. Vitamin E is said to be essential for prevention of heart disease, asthma, arthritis, and many other conditions.
Vitamin E Facts
In 1923 Herbert Evans and Katherine Bishop in California, USA, discovered that there existed a dietary factor which was essential for reproduction in rats. It was given the name vitamin E or antisterility factor by Dr E. V. Shute in 1924. It was, however, only in 1936 that Evans and his colleagues finally isolated pure vitamin E from wheat-germ oil. They called it tocopherol. This word is derived from locos meaning child birth, and pheros meaning to bear.
Eight different tocopherol compounds with vitamin E activity have been identified uptil now. All of them have the same physiological properties. The tocopherols are yellow, oily liquids, freely soluble in fat solvents. They are not easily destroyed by heat even at room temperature above 100°C or 212° F. Substances which interfere with or destroy vitamin E in the body are iron compounds, synthetic oestrogen, and chlorine or chlorinated water.
Approximately 50 to 85 per cent of Vitamin E in the diet is absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract by a mechanism similar to that of other fat-soluble vitamins. It enters the bloodstream via the lymph. The vitamin is stored in all the tissues, and the tissue stores can, provide protection against the deficiency of this vitamin for long periods. About one-third of the vitamin E is excreted in the bile and the balance is excreted in the urine.
What does vitamin E do for your skin?
Vitamin E has a highly therapeutic effect on the skin. It is used in the management of a host of skin ailments, such as, dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. It is also called a beauty vitamin and lends radiance to the skin.
What does vitamin E do for the body?
Primarily, vitamin E functions as a powerful anti-oxidant. It fights free radical damage and checks the occurrence of various illnesses. Acne, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, anemia and muscular dystrophy are handled well with vitamin E supplementation.
Here’s a list of certain foods that are loaded with vitamin E:
Wheat germ
Safflower oil
Sun flower seeds
Almonds
Whole wheat
Spinach
Peaches
Dried prunes
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Milk
Incorporate a serving of 2 of these daily in to your diet. They provide you with adequate quantities of the vitamin.
Health benefits of vitamin E
- Vitamin E is a potent anti-oxidant. i.e. it protects the cells in our body from free radical damage. A deficiency of the vitamin increases the susceptibility of cellular damage.
- Vitamin E is also sometimes referred to as the beauty vitamin, since it greatly determines skin health. Acne is cleared up immediately, once you step up the daily intake of the vitamin.
- Being a powerful anti-oxidant, it offers significant protection against cancers.
- Vitamin E is also important for the health of the brain and the nervous system. Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease is known to occur, in cases of severe vitamin E deficiencies.