Vitamin E – Nutrition Month

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Series on Fat Soluble Vitamins – Vitamin E

Vitamin E occurs naturally in food and your body stores fat soluble vitamins and uses it as needed.  A great way to boost your vitamin E intake, add 1 Tablespoon wheat germ oil into recipes.

Main role of vitamin E = Antioxidant 

Antioxidants protect cells against damage, the damage being called free radicals.  Free radicals break down healthy cells and contribute to heart disease and cancer.

The active form of this vitamin is alpha-tocopherol which enhances immune function and prevents clots forming in heart arteries.^1-2 

Vitamin E also helps maintain skin health, eyesight, and strengthen your immune system.³ 

Good food sources:^1-2

Wheat germ oil

Sunflower, safflower, and soybean oil

Sunflower seeds – great vitamin E snack

Almonds

Peanuts, peanut butter

Hazelnuts

Beet greens, collard greens, spinach

Broccoli

Pumpkin

Red bell pepper

Asparagus

Mango

Avocado

References:

1. “Vitamin E.” The Nutrition Source, 2 July 2019, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-e/. 
2. Weatherspoon, Deborah. “The Benefits of Vitamin E.” Healthline, 18 Nov. 2017, http://www.healthline.com/health/all-about-vitamin-e . 
3. Brennan, Dan. “8 Foods High in Vitamin E and Why You Need It.” WebMD, WebMD, 10 Nov. 2020, http://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-vitamin-e#1. 

Photo Credit:

Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash

Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash

Christine Siracusa on Unsplash

Alina Karpenko on Unsplash