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Vitamin E: health benefits, food sources and what to know before using supplements

You may have noticed vitamin E on the label of your favorite skin care products. It is a nutrient that can help protect your skin from UV damage, making it a common ingredient for facial sunscreens. But vitamin E is not only applied topically – you must also bring it into your daily diet. Consuming enough vitamin E is crucial because it plays a key role in human development and functioning. Vitamin includes eight compounds, but only one – alpha -tocopherol – is used in the human body.

Experts have debated the advantages and disadvantages of vitamin E for many years, therefore deciding to supplement vitamin E in your diet can be confusing. To help you, we have done the search for you and found the main dishes to remember you should know. Here are the potential advantages and disadvantages to be considered before adding a vitamin E supplement to your daily routine.

What is vitamin E?

Vitamin E is a soluble nutrient in fat that is found in many foods and is important for the human body in various ways. Vitamin E, in the form of alpha-tocopherol, is a powerful antioxidant that works as a machine to fight radicals.

Although it is possible to meet the daily needs of vitamin E through food, oral and topical supplements are also available. However, supplements must be used with caution, according to the instructions and after consulting a doctor.

Adding vitamin E to your diet

Vitamin E food sources

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Nuts, seeds and vegetable oils are at the top of the best sources, but vitamin E can be found in many foods. Here are some excellent and versatile food choices to increase your vitamin E.

  • Asparagus
  • Lawyer
  • Boiled or raw spinach
  • Dry toasted almonds
  • Dry roasted hazelnuts
  • Dry roasted sunflower seeds
  • Kiwi
  • mango
  • Peanut butter
  • Pumpkin
  • Red pepper
  • Tomato

Advantages of vitamin E

Vitamin E has been presented as offering many advantages to the human body. Some of them are not conclusive with regard to the real advantage in scientific studies. Here are some vitamin E advantages that have science to save them.

1. can lower blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Some studies have shown that the supplement with vitamin E can help lower blood pressure, although the results were not as favorable to those with severe blood pressure.

Although the results are mixed on the relationship between vitamin E supplementation and cardiovascular disease, a study that followed 40,000 healthy women for 10 years revealed that those who supplemented vitamin E presented a risk of death of 24% lower by a heart event. The results were not as positive for those who have a high risk or who already had heart disease.

2. fight free radicals

Vitamin E is known to combat free radicals and protect cells from their damage; Fewer free radicals can mean several good things for the human body.

Cellular damage from free radicals increase the risk of various health problems such as cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases, cataracts and cancer. Antioxidants who fight against free radicals, such as vitamin E, also fight these chronic conditions.

A bonus? The contribution of vitamin E to the reduction of free radicals also reduces skin damage by exposure to UVs. Less skin damage means a younger sparkle, and who doesn’t want that?

Its anti-inflammatory effects also help reduce symptoms in chronic inflammatory skin conditions such as dermatitis.

3. Can reduce PMS symptoms

About 80% to 90% of women experience a certain degree of premenstrual syndrome during their reproductive years. For some, PMS is painful and disruptive for daily life. Vitamin E can make a respite if you are one of the 80% to 90%.

Studies show that the complement of vitamin E with vitamin D can be an effective way to reduce PMS symptoms such as cramps, anxiety and desires.

Omega 3 pills on pink background

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Disadvantages of vitamin E supplements

As with any supplement, vitamin E must be used according to instructions and with caution.

Avoid too much

Being soluble fat is not a bad thing. But too much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing. Liposoluble vitamins like vitamin E dissolve in fats, as opposed to soluble vitamins in water such as vitamin C. This means that vitamin E can be stored in fat tissues and your body liver up to six months.

Because most of our vitamin E needs can be met by food, high doses of vitamin E are rarely necessary and can cause serious health problems.

You may experience side effects

When taken in small doses, vitamin E rarely causes negative side effects. However, this is not the case for everyone. Here are some side effects to monitor:

  • Blurred vision
  • Diarrhea
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Rash
  • Stomach cramps
  • Weakness

Can cause or worsen certain health conditions

Before completing or increasing your food intake of vitamin E, consider the following health conditions which could be caused or aggravated by vitamin E.

  • Prostate cancer: Although additional research is limited, a trial study of 35,533 healthy men concluded that food supplementation in vitamin E has caused a significant increase in prostate cancer.
  • Heart disease: Although there is no research to suggest that vitamin E causes heart disease, some research suggests that vitamin E can worsen condition and increase the risk of death by heart attack or stroke.
  • Hemorrhage: High doses of vitamin E has been shown to cause bleeding and increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
  • Diabetes: Current information supports the discouragement of people with diabetes to complete with vitamin E.

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Can interact with certain drugs

If you take prescription drugs or supplements, check with your medicine supplier before completing with vitamin E. Vitamin E can counter the effectiveness of certain drugs or supplements such as vitamin K, statins, niacin, anticoagulants, anti-platform drugs or even chemotherapy drugs.

Can vitamin E be taken daily?

For adults, the recommended daily amount of vitamin E is 15 mg. You only need a small amount of good foods to reach 15 mg. For example, there are 7.4 mg of vitamin E in an ounce of sunflower seeds and 7.3 mg by an ounce of almonds. One or the other will bring you to around 49% of your daily need for vitamin E.

Because vitamin E is so accessible in food, and in this case, the more better, the complement is not often necessary. However, if you are unable to obtain the daily quantity recommended by food, you must limit your supplementation to 15 mg or less per day to obtain the complete advantages of vitamin E.

If you take other supplements or medicines, be sure to consult your medical supplier before taking vitamin E.

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