A Guide to the E Vitamin

The E vitamin is extremely important for a variety of functions in the body. A healthy heart needs plenty of the E vitamin as it has been shown to prevent heart disease. The E vitamin can also help contain any existing heart disease and stop it from getting worse.

E vitamin is also vital in protecting the cell membranes from the harmful free radicals that are present in the body. Without E vitamin, amongst others, the cell membranes would be damaged, and this could lead to serious health problems, including cancer. The reason that the E vitamin is so effective against free radicals is that it is fat soluble, so it can be absorbed into the cell membranes. The E vitamin is therefore essential for the immune system.

The recommended daily amount of the E vitamin that a person requires depends on their body weight. This is connected to the fact that the more fat a diet contains then the more of the E vitamin that is needed. However, the only foods that really contain any reasonable amount of the E vitamin are vegetable oils, seeds, wheat germ, and nuts. It is for this reason that most people should take some form of E vitamin supplement.

A deficiency of the E vitamin does not affect a person immediately. In fact, it can take months for the effects of insufficient E vitamin to be detected. After years of E vitamin deficiency there may be some detectable damage to the nerves of the spinal cord or retina of the eye, but this is very rare. Most people obtain enough E vitamin from a normal diet, but it is essential that the food that a person eats contains a little fat to help with the absorption of the E vitamin.

There are a few medical conditions that may lead to a deficiency of the E vitamin and may require the person to take e vitamin supplements. Cystic fibrosis causes a person to be unable to digest fats well which leads to less of the E vitamin being absorbed. Crohn’s disease causes to lower absorption rates of the E vitamin and a supplement may be necessary. Some forms of liver disease can also lead to problems absorbing the E vitamin, especially through the intestine. Of course, as fat is required to help absorb enough amounts of the E vitamin, anyone on an extremely low-fat diet will need to discuss their options for increasing the amount of E vitamin that their body needs.

From your friends at MyBioNature.com