The Benefits of Vitamin E

Vitamin E, tocopherol

Vitamin E refers to a group of eight fat-soluble compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols. There are many different forms of vitamin E, of which γ-tocopherol is the most common in the North American diet. γ-Tocopherol can be found in corn oil, soybean oil, margarine and dressings.


α-Tocopherol, the most biologically active form of vitamin E, is the second most common form of vitamin E in the North American diet.


This variant of vitamin E can be found most abundantly in wheat germ oil, sunflower, and safflower oils. It is a fat-soluble antioxidant that stops the production of reactive oxygen species formed when fat undergoes oxidation.





 

Health effects

01. Antioxidant
First of all, because of its antioxidant activity, vitamin e is vital in protecting skin cells from ultra violet light, pollution, drugs, and other elements that produce cell damaging free radicals.


It is believed that vitamin e is most effective in its natural alcohol form rather than its acetate form where it is a less effective antioxidant. Watch for this in the labelling of skin care products.



02. Regulator for Vitamin A
The vitamin E benefits for healthy skin care also include its ability to regulate vitamin A in the body, which itself is important for healthy skin.




03. Anti-Aging Benefits of Vitamin E
Vitamin e added to lotions, creams, and other skin care products, as well as taken orally, plays a role in the anti-aging of skin. It helps skin look younger by reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.


Also, free radicals are believed to play an important role in skin aging and therefore the antioxidant activity is quite valuable for this skin problem.



04. Sun Protection and Sun Burn Treatment
Vitamin e lotions provide some benefit in preventing and treating sunburns. These lotions protect the epidermis layer of the skin from early stages of ultra violet light damage.


Vitamin e preparations also increase the effectiveness of sunscreens. Such lotions do not work immediately. They must be applied about 20 minutes before sun exposure in order to allow the vitamin e to be absorbed deep into the epidermis layer.

05. Treatment of Skin Diseases
Vitamin e can aid in the treatment of various skin diseases or skin conditions. Topical applications such as those used to treat psoriasis is one of the benefits of vitamin e.


Orally ingested vitamin e can help treat erythema (a skin inflammation that results in reddish, painful, and tender lumps).


06. Treatment of Scars
This is one of the more controversial benefits of vitamin e. Initially, it was thought that vitamin e was very beneficial in the prevention and treatment of scarring (acne scars or surgical scars) and healing of skin from various forms of damage such as burns.


Some recent research has questioned this benefit of vitamin e. In fact some studies have indicated that vitamin e creams do not help prevent surgical scarring and may actually make the scar look worse. This is in opposition to the experience of a number of individuals that claim vitamin e creams help soften the appearance of scars.


07. Skin Cancer Benefits of Vitamin E
One of the most important benefits of vitamin e is the prevention of skin cancer. This occurs because of its sun protection quality and of course its powerful antioxidant properties, which help reduce or prevent sun damage.



Other Vitamin E Benefits
There are a variety of other benefits of vitamin e for skin care:

• vitamin E products help reduce the appearance of stretch marks
• vitamin E can help prevent the appearance of age spots
• it helps maintain the skin’s oil balance during the cleansing process
• it reduces transepidermal water loss from skin and strengthens the skin’s barrier function

Table 1 : List of Nuts high in Vitamine E

NUTS & Seeds Vitamin E TOP 10
Rank	Fruits	Quatity/100g	RDA
1	Sunflower Seeds	36.6 mg	366%
2	Chili Powder	30.0 mg	300%
3	Almonds	26.2 mg	262%
4	Wallnuts	20.83 mg	209%
5	Flwx Seed	20.0 mg	200%
6	Hazelnuts	15.0 mg	150%
7	Pine Nuts	9.3 mg	93%
8	Basil	7.38 mg	74%
9	Peanuts	6.9 mg	69%
10	Macadamia	4.0 mg	40%

                  

Table 2 : List of Oils high in Vitamine E

     

Oil Vitamin E TOP 5
Rank	Oils	Quantity/100g	RDA
1	Wheat Germ Oil	149 mg	149%
2	Flaxseed Oil	17.5 mg	175%
3	Corn	15.0 mg	150%
4	Canola Oil	15.0 mg	150%
5	Soybean Oil	8.2 mg	82%