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“Vitamin E facts”
Some interesting facts about vitamin E:
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means that in order for it to be absorbed properly, there needs to be some fat in the diet and preferably the fat should be eaten at the same time as the food rich in vitamin D, to enable it to be absorbed quickly and easily.
Vitamin E is one of the major antioxidant vitamins that helps to fight and neutralise free radicals and prevent the damage they may cause to the body (ageing, cancer, heart disease). Vitamin E works effectively with vitamin C and vitamin A to perform these antioxidant duties.
The immune system requires adequate levels of vitamin E to help fortify the white blood cells and help the immune system fight infection and disease more effectively. Vitamin E helps to improve resistance to infection and disease. Lack of vitamin E is implicated in many disease as it causes a weakening of the immune system.
Vitamin E has blood thinning properties, which means it helps to improve blood flow in the arteries and helps to enable better blood flow and circulation to the extremities (hands and feet). Circulatory disorders such as angina and intermittent claudation respond well to vitamin E supplementation. Studies show that vitamin E appears to reduce symptoms associated with circulatory disorders without any of the side effects associated with blood thinning medications. People that have circulatory disorders should never self-medicate and take vitamin E to help with their condition, especially if they are already taking blood thinning medications - the combination of the medications and vitamin E may be really dangerous as it could cause them to bleed internally.
Numerous studies show that vitamin E also lowers the LDL ("bad") and increased HDL ("good") cholesterol levels in the blood, thereby reducing heart disease risk. The studies showed that vitamin E prevented the oxidation of cholesterol by free radicals. Other studies have shown that vitamin E may help to remove fats from the walls of arteries and reduce risk of clogged arteries that can cause a heart attack or stroke.
Studies have also shown that vitamin E prevents a serious heart condition called atherosclerosis, which is where the arteries harden, clot and stroke or heart attack results. Vitamin E has the effect of thinning the blood, so that clots do not form so easily if this vitamin is in good supply in the diet, reducing risk of heart conditions such as atherosclerosis.
Numerous important studies show that vitamin E is especially beneficial in lowering risk of coronary heart disease. The studies showed that people who either used a supplement of ate foods high in vitamin E lowered their risk of coronary heart disease by at least 35-40% than people who did not have adequate levels of this vitamin. The studies of men showed that the reduced risk occurred even if there was no change blood cholesterol levels and that people with the higher blood levels of vitamin E had the most protection against risk of coronary heart disease. Yet another study showed that vitamin E supplements stopped blood from being too sticky and clotting, increasing risk for heart disease and stroke. While many studies have shown that vitamin E is very beneficial for preventing heart disease in the first place, but it also helps to prevent existing heart conditions from getting any worse. The studies found that more than 60% of heart disease could be prevented if people had adequate levels of vitamin E.
Many studies have shown that vitamin E may be a potent anti-carcinogenic vitamin through its antioxidant properties, by neutralising free radical damage and preventing carcinogenic compounds from causing a malignancy. Research shows that vitamin E prevents the formation of the carcinogenic substance nitrosamines when foods high in the artificial preservatives nitrites and nitrates are ingested (cured meat, deli meat, sausages, pollution, cigarette smoke).
Numerous studies have shown that vitamin E protects the body from development of a whole range of different types of cancers. Both human and animal studies suggest that vitamin E has this anti-cancer protective effect. Research on animals has also shown that not only is the oral version of vitamin E helpful for protecting against cancer, but topical creams with vitamin E added are really beneficial in protecting the skin of the animals against the free radical damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light, which can lead to skin cancer if damage is ongoing. Other research shows that vitamin E is also beneficial in treating existing cancers by shrinking the tumours (animal studies) as well protecting healthy cells from the damaging effects of chemotherapy without reducing the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs.
Vitamin E helps to protect the body from the potential damage that is caused by inhalation or ingestion of heavy metals such as mercury, lead as well as other toxins such as tetrachloride, benzene, ozone, nitrous oxide by preventing these chemicals from causing any damage in the body, though its actions as an antioxidant. It helps to eliminate these toxins before they can damage any of the cells in the body.
Vitamin E may help with wound healing as it helps to speed up recovery and reduces the amount of scar tissues and inflammation around the wound. Many topical creams contain vitamin E for this reason. Research shows that not only does vitamin E help with external wounds on the skin, but it can help to heal internal wounds too.
Research has shown that vitamin E supplementation can help reduce fibrocystic breast disease in women especially. This condition causes benign breast lumps (usually cysts) to be formed in the breasts which cause discomfort and pain. One study showed that women who were given vitamin E supplements, 85% of the women experienced a reduction in the number of cysts and as well as reduction in pain, with 38% of the women having no more cysts at the conclusion of supplementation with vitamin E.
Vitamin E has also been shown to help women who suffer from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) by reducing some of the symptoms associated with this disorder, such as bloating, breast tenderness and mood problems.
Vitamin E has an important role in working together with vitamin A and vitamin C, as it helps to prevent them from oxidising, being damaged by free radical damage and being inactivated. Adequate levels of vitamin E are required to strengthen the effectiveness and functionality of both vitamin A and vitamin C. These vitamins all enhance each other's antioxidant actions.
Vitamin E is stored in many tissues in the body. The highest amounts of vitamin E are in the fat tissues and muscles, but there are concentrations of vitamin E in the pituitary gland, adrenal glands and testes (in men).
People should always buy the natural form (d-alpha-tocopherol) of vitamin E in supplements, as it is much more superior to the synthetic one (dl-alpha-tocopherol) as it is more bioavailable to being easily synthesised in the body than the synthetic one. The natural form of vitamin E is the preferable one to buy.
Disclaimer: The advice on this site should be viewed as a general guideline only and it should not replace the advice of a medical professional. Always consult your medical or health care provider to get the advice and care for your particular and individual health, nutrition, diet and fitness circumstances.