What does it do?
A busy, multi-purpose, multi-functional vitamin, E is a powerful anti-oxidant that works to maintain normal conditions in our cells, support the immune system, and is important for healthy skin and nails. It also protects red-blood cells, and is associated with fertility, muscle and nerve membrane maintenance, lung protection, anti-aging and preventing blood clots. Phew.
What’s the story?
One of the more mysterious vitamins, research is still ongoing to determine vitamin E’s exact effects in the human body. A strange paradox seem to exist (as with vitamin A). Despite vitamin E’s known anti-oxidant qualities, very high doses taken in supplement form in experiments to see whether E can prevent chronic diseases such as cancer appear to have the opposite effect, with trials actually showing an increase in cancer incidence when large supplements are taken. More research is needed here, but again a balanced diet appears to win out over megadoses taken in supplement form.
How much do I need?
Adult men require 4+ mg/day, and adult women 3+ mg/day.
What are good sources?
If you eat a mostly healthy diet, vitamin E is pretty easy to find. In fact, unlike its more vexing cousin vitamin D, it’s actually very difficult to become deficient in vitamin E which is why it doesn’t actually have a concrete RNI. Vegetable oils (eg. olive oil, sunflower oil), nuts and seeds including hazelnuts and pine nuts, dark green veg, avocado, fruit, eggs, dairy, sweet potato, whole grains and meat (especially offal) are all good sources.
Any ideas for using those ingredients?
Liver alla veneziana/red kidney bean koftas/easy guacamole/grilled figs with hazelnut crumble/marmite nuts/shakshuka/tuna and avocado poke/roast chicken with raisins and pine nuts
References
Klein, E.A., Thompson, Jr., Tangen, C.M., Crowley, J.J., Lucia, M.S., Goodman, P.J., et al. (2011) Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). Journal of the American Medical Association. 306 (14). Available here.
Martyn, K. (2011) Nutrition: made incredibly easy. London, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, chp. 6.
NHS Choices (2017) Vitamin E. Available here [accessed 5th august 2017].
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2016), National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin E - Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Available here.