Vitamin E is a compound whose properties have long been used in medicine, where it is known, inter alia, as a "fertility vitamin" as it is essential for its preservation. In addition, vitamin E has been used in cosmetics, where it has gained fame as the "vitamin of youth" as it delays the aging process of the skin. Check what action vitamin E has and where it is located.

Vitamin Eis a group of compounds known as tocopherols. Together with vitamins A, D and K, they belong to the group of fat-soluble vitamins. This means that they are stored in the body (and not excreted in urine or sweat, like water-soluble vitamins), where they are mainly found in adipose tissue (about 20 mg) and in the adrenal glands.

Vitamin E: what functions does it perform in the body?

Vitamin E, in addition to vitamins A and C, is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body against oxidative stress and cell damage caused by free radicals.

Vitamin E is also involved in the synthesis of anticoagulants, maintaining the proper permeability of cell membranes and reducing the aggregation (clumping) of platelets, and thus - prevents blood clots.

In addition, it is involved in the protection of red blood cells, gene expression and the transmission of nerve signals throughout the body. In addition, it affects the proper muscle performance and the production of male sperm.

It is also needed during pregnancy because it is responsible for the maintenance and proper development of the fetus. In addition, vitamin E supports the proper functioning of the eyesight.

Vitamin E: deficiency symptoms

Vitamin E deficiency in the body is very rare. It is observed in the case of fat absorption disorders and among people with a rare genetic disease - abetalipoproteinemia (Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome). People with cystic fibrosis and celiac disease are also at risk of vitamin E deficiency.

The main symptoms of vitamin E deficiency are:

  • fatigue,
  • anemia,
  • keratosis and aging of the skin,
  • damage to the nervous system,
  • muscle degeneration;
  • dental and bone problems,
  • susceptibility to infections,
  • neurological disorders,
  • soreness and muscle wasting.

Check for symptoms of vitamin E deficiency!

See the gallery of 6 photos

Can vitamin E be overdosed?

Vitamin E from food is difficult to overdose, but when taking supplements, you should pay special attention. However, even in these cases, excess vitamin E is metabolized and excreted from the body. Only long-term use of doses above 1000 mg / day can cause muscle weakness, headaches, fatigue, intestinal disorders and visual disturbances.

CHECK>>Vitamin overdose. Which vitamins can be overdosed?

Vitamin E requirement

According to specialists from the Food and Nutrition Institute, the daily requirement for vitamin E is varied and depends, among others, on on age, sex and physiological condition. On average, it is 6 mg in children, 10 mg in men, 8 mg in women (those taking birth control pills need more of it) and 20-50 mg in the elderly, over 75 years of age.

It is worth knowing that the body's absorption of "vitamins of youth" is supported by vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, manganese, selenium, phosphorus and essential fatty acids.

Vitamin E and liver and prostate cancer

Since vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, many experts believe that it reduces the risk of cancer. Among them are scientists from the Institute of Oncology in Shanghai and the Vanderbilt University in Nashville (Tennessee, USA), who argue in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that vitamin E, consumed in high doses - both from food and in the form of supplements - may lower the risk of developing liver cancer, also in people with liver disease or a family risk of liver cancer.

In turn, Finnish researchers argue that vitamin E reduces the risk of prostate cancer in smokers. Their opinion is shared by Australian scientists from Queensland University of Technology, who go a step further and argue that vitamin E can not only reduce the likelihood of developing this cancer, but also support its treatment.

Their research shows that vitamin E supports the treatment of prostate cancer by reducing the growth of the tumor.

Vitamin E owes its healing properties to the specific form of tocotrienol (gamma-tocotrienol) it contains. According to the researchers, the substance effectively inhibits the growth of neoplastic cells responsible not only for prostate cancer, but also for breast, colon, liver and stomach cancer.

Another relationship between prostate cancer and vitamin E was discovered by scientists from the Cancer Research Center Fred Hutchinson in Seattle (USA), who in the already mentioned "Journal of the NationalCancer Institute "warn that the excessive consumption of" vitamin of youth "(greater than the recommended daily intake), as well as selenium (selenium and vitamin E work synergistically, i.e. together they work more strongly than administered separately in equivalent doses - ed.) increases the risk of developing this cancer.

In men whose selenium levels were low at the start of the study, excessive vitamin E intake (400 units per day) was associated with an increase in overall risk of prostate cancer by as much as 63%. The increased risk was not noticed in the subjects who took vitamin E together with selenium. The researchers concluded that this element seems to protect against the harmful effects of excess vitamin E. However, excessive amounts of selenium (200 µg per day) may also increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Due to these discrepancies, it cannot be conclusively stated that vitamin E can prevent cancer.

We recommend

Author: Time S.A

Take advantage of the convenient online diets of the He alth Guide, also developed for people struggling with vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies. A carefully selected diet plan will respond to your individual nutritional needs. Thanks to them you will regain he alth and improve your well-being. These diets are developed in accordance with the latest recommendations and standards of research institutes.

Find out more

Vitamin E and stroke

Many specialists claim that vitamin E prevents heart disease because it reduces the clumping of blood cells and protects against the development of atherosclerosis (it inhibits the oxidation of the LDL cholesterol fraction - the so-called "bad cholesterol"), and thus - incl. . before the development of heart attack and stroke.

The relationship between vitamin E and cardiovascular diseases has been investigated by scientists from Harvard University, who argue in the British Journal of Medicine that vitamin E (taken in a dose of at least 50 mg / day) is slightly, by 22 percent ., increases the risk of haemorrhagic stroke (cerebral infarction). Their research shows that it happened in one in 1,250 people taking this vitamin.

Interestingly, vitamin E also reduces the risk of ischemic stroke (cerebral infarction) by 10 percent. - it happened in one in 467 people surveyed who took this nutrient. Although the study did not show that vitamin E is a significant risk factor for stroke, the differences between the two types were considered significant.

Vitamin E - where is the most vitamin E?

The top ten sources of vitamin E include sunflower oil, embryo oilwheat, almonds, hazelnuts and cereal seed germs and sprouts.

It should be noted that vegetable oils and cold-pressed olive oils contain much more vitamin E than those produced industrially. During the latter type of production, up to 75% of it is destroyed. vitamins.

Vitamin E content per 100 gFood products
Less than 0.5 mgmilk and dairy products, cereal products (groats: millet, semolina, buckwheat, barley, white rice, corn flakes, wheat flour, wheat rolls, four-egg pasta), meat (pork, beef, veal), meat from chicken thighs, turkey meat, pork liver, chicken liver, vegetables (beetroot, potatoes, chicory, onion, cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, cucumbers), fruit (strawberries, cherries, pears, apples, oranges, kiwi, bananas), fish (hake, cod)
0.5 - 1 mgpoultry (turkey, chickens), wholemeal rye bread, pumpernickel bread, graham buns, toasted bread, brown rice, vegetables (carrots, Brussels sprouts, soybeans), carp, beef liver, eggs, fruits (peaches, apricots)
1 - 10 mg fish (pollock, mackerel, herring, tuna, salmon), oatmeal, wheat bran, walnuts, peanuts, vegetables (pumpkins, tomatoes, broccoli, chives, white cabbage, kale, spinach, peppers, parsley ), butter, fruit (black currants, avocados)
10 - 30 mgolive oil, oils (soybean, corn, rapeseed), margarines based on these oils, wheat germ, almonds, sunflower seeds
More than 30 mgoils (sunflower, wheat germ), margarines based on sunflower oil, hazelnuts

"Vitamins", collective work edited by prof. Jana Gawęcki, Library of the Nutrition Knowledge Olympiad, Book 5, Department of Human Nutrition Hygiene, Poznań 2000

Vitamin E as "fertility vitamin"

Vitamin E is also called the "fertility vitamin" because it is essential for the proper functioning of the reproductive organs. Its shortage, among others reduces the secretion of the gonadotropic hormone, which contributes to the degeneration of sperm in men.

Vitamin E in pregnancy

Vitamin E is essential during pregnancy. It has a special impact on the child's eyesight, so it should not be forgotten, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy, i.e. when the eyesight is shaped. In addition, vitamin E together with folic acid prevents damage to the nervous system and the development of birth defects in the fetus.

Vitamin E hasinfluence also on the correct birth weight of the child. Scientists have also found that by administering vitamin E a few weeks before termination of pregnancy, the mortality rate of children during childbirth decreases.

Therefore, deficiency of this vitamin in pregnant women may lead to abnormal development of the fetus, premature rupture of membranes and premature birth, miscarriage or death of the fetus. Its deficiency may also be associated with the occurrence of pregnancy poisoning, which threatens the life of the child and mother.

Women expecting a baby should take an average of 15-19 mg of this vitamin a day.

Vitamin E - use in cosmetics

Vitamin E is called the "vitamin of youth" for a reason. As a strong antioxidant, it neutralizes free radicals responsible for irritation and the formation of wrinkles, and thus - delays the aging process of the skin.

Moreover, it has nourishing, regenerating and moisturizing and moisturizing properties. Therefore, face and body creams with vitamin E are intended for all skin types, but above all for the sensitive, prone to irritation and wrinkles.

In addition, it helps protect the skin against UV radiation. Creams with vitamin E can also be used as an aid in the treatment of psoriasis, skin irritations, eczema and acne-prone skin.

Vitamin E Paradox

It turns out that the most popular form of vitamin E in supplements is alpha-tocopherol. Many years of research by Swedish scientists have confirmed that alpha-tocopherol alone not only does not have such strong antioxidant properties, but even its consumption may have a toxic effect.

- Vitamin E occurs in many forms and only the appropriate combination of different fractions of tocopherols and tocotrienols gives a therapeutic effect. This scientific discovery will revolutionize the modern world of supplements, and the selection of the most effective preparation containing an effective form of vitamin E will be based on the appropriate mixture of all 8 of its chemical constellations - says Leif Östberg, member of the Swedish Association of Nutritional Therapists, Holistic expert.

- The right proportions of the various chemical variants of vitamin E work holistically in a variety of areas where vitamin E is credited with having beneficial effects on the body. It turns out that tocopherols and tocotrienols affect completely different processes "- explains the Holistic expert.

Category:

He alth