Vitamin E: Health Benefits and Foods

The antioxidant properties of Vitamin E have been given credit for everything from preventing aging to preventing cancer. While many of these claims are over-hyped, the body runs more efficiently with proper amounts of Vitamin E. Vitamin E foods are easy to find, but are often excluded from the diet due to their fat content. Adding more of these foods into your diet can offer many health benefits. At the end of this article there is a list of foods rich in vitamin E as well as a sample one day vitamin E focused menu.

What are the Benefits of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin that offers many health benefits. These health benefits mostly involve slowing down the process of your body aging by neutralizing free radicals in the body. While the antioxidant effects of vitamin E do not reverse free radical damage, it has been shown (along with sufficient levels of other antioxidants) to slow down the effects of aging. Vitamin E has also been linked with the prevention of many different diseases including cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Clinical research has not shown any clear benefits of vitamin E supplementation above the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 15 mg for adults. The best way to get all the health benefits of vitamin E is to add it to your diet through nutritious and natural foods that will load your body with not only vitamin E, but also a wide variety of other vitamins and minerals.

How Antioxidants Protect Against Free Radical damage

Free radicals are atoms that are missing an electron after a molecule has been broken. These free radicals are working hard to regain that missing electron and become stable. As a free radical steals an electron from another atom, the second atom then becomes a free radical, starting the process over again.

Vitamin E and other antioxidants stop the free radical chain reaction because antioxidant atoms are stable even after one electron has been stolen by a free radical.

These antioxidant benefits of vitamin E has been linked with lower rates of heart disease, some cancer prevention, reduced cases of age related eye disorders (i.e. macular degeneration, cataracts), slowing the cognitive effects of dementia, and protecting the skin from wrinkles and sun damage.

Foods contain Vitamin E

The benefits of Vitamin E have not been strongly linked with supplementing in levels above the RDA. The adult RDA for Vitamin E is 15mg. This amount of Vitamin E can easily be achieved through diet. A true vitamin E deficiency is very rare and is usually related to a fat-malabsorption disorder or dieting products that prevent fat absorption (such as Alli diet pill).

The best Vitamin E foods are green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, vegetable oils, and fortified cereals. With all of these foods, cooking and storage can destroy some vitamin E. Steaming is generally the best way to prepare vitamin E rich vegetables and preserve most of the vitamins.

The best vitamin E food sources:

wheat germ
almonds
sunflower seeds
sunflower seed oil
safflower oil
hazelnuts
peanut butter
corn oil
spinach (raw or steamed)
broccoli
soybean oil
kiwi
mango
tomato
avocado
sweet potato
walnuts
egg yolks
Total Cereal (contains 100% RDA per 1 cup serving)

A Menu of Vitamin E Foods

Breakfast:

Top your cereal or oatmeal with wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, or stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Or have a bowl of Total Cereal.

Lunch:

Have a turkey sandwich topped with spinach, tomato, and avocado.

Dinner:

Include a spinach, broccoli, tomato, and avocado salad as a side. Top your salad with sunflower seed or slivered almonds.

End your meal with a kiwi, mango, strawberry fruit salad. Or blend with yogurt and drink a delicious antioxidant smoothie.

While a vitamin E deficiency is very rare, the incredible antioxidant properties of vitamin E are well worth pursuing through vitamin E rich foods in the diet. Healthy, whole-foods eating will not only provide a boost to the vitamin E in your diet, you will also get a variety of other vitamins and minerals.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. For your situation, please seek the advice of a qualified medical professional.

Sources:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamine/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-e/NS_patient-vitamine
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.com