How Can Vitamin E (Tocopherol) Improve Your Health?

Melanie Ramos 9 min. of reading Vitamins Leave a comment

Vitamin E or Tocopherol is an essential fat-soluble nutrient, composed of tocopherols and tocotrienols, where alpha-tocopherol plays a key role in the neutralization of free radicals and contributes to numerous functions in the body.

Despite its benefits, studies indicate that only 50% of the population meets the daily requirements for vitamin E. If that’s not your case, you already know what you can start eating so that your vitamin E levels can say “enough!”. Do you want to learn more about the antioxidant that will help improve your health and well-being? Keep reading and it will no longer hold any secrets for you.

7 Benefits of Vitamin E in the Body

Vitamin E offers multiple benefits, among which we can highlight:

1 Promotes cardiovascular health

Vitamin E protects low-density lipoproteins (LDL) from oxidation, which helps prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases. By preventing the oxidation of these particles, which transport cholesterol through the bloodstream, it minimizes the risk of atherosclerosis and associated heart problems.

2 Supports pregnancy and breastfeeding

During periods when the body needs greater nutritional support, such as pregnancy and breastfeeding, vitamin E helps maintain good health for both the mother and the baby’s development.

3 Protects against oxidative stress

Acting as an antioxidant, vitamin E protects cells and tissues from damage caused by free radicals. This protective process helps prevent a wide range of medical conditions and general deterioration associated with aging.

4 Improves skin health

Vitamin E improves the skin’s ability to regenerate and repair itself, resulting in better wound healing and less deterioration due to exposure to external factors such as UV rays and pollution.

5 Contributes to the immune and neurological systems

Vitamin E supports the immune system and offers properties that protect brain cells against various types of toxins and degeneration. Research has shown that tocotrienols, in particular, play a role in protecting brain cells, helping reduce the risk of neurological diseases.

6 Helps control cholesterol and prevent diabetes

Regulating lipid metabolism and reducing inflammation are two ways vitamin E helps maintain cholesterol within healthy ranges and prevent the onset of diabetes.

7 Relieves dermatological conditions

Vitamin E has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of dermatological conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. It helps improve the inflammatory response of the skin and manage symptoms, providing relief and improving skin health.

Vitamin E and Sports

Are you an athlete? Then you will be particularly interested to know that vitamin E has been shown to lower blood lactate levels and reduce the formation of certain waste products generated during exercise. In addition, it helps reduce cellular damage caused by oxidation and keeps muscle tissue healthy.

During periods of recovery from a possible injury or surgery, as well as in sports that require intense muscular wear, consuming vitamin E above average tends to favor recovery and muscle performance, while reducing painful “muscle soreness” and muscle damage.

Vitamin E is found in the cell membranes of the brain and muscles, precisely where free radicals are produced. For this reason, it acts as an oxidative shield that not only provides antioxidant enzymes and molecules but also helps protect cells from oxidative damage.

Taking vitamin E dietary supplements will help prevent oxidative damage caused by physical exertion.

Vitamin E has been shown to increase the presence of creatine kinase, considered a biomarker of muscle recovery activity. Another advantage of a nutrient that athletes should not do without.

What diseases does this natural antioxidant help prevent?

Taking vitamin E is beneficial for everyone, but there are certain population groups for whom its intake is especially beneficial.

Do you identify with any of them?

Smokers.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women.
People with fat absorption disorders.
Athletes.
Sick individuals and those recovering from illness.
Diabetics.
Patients with senile dementia.
People receiving permanent medication, such as contraceptive pills.
People with vitamin E deficiency or stress.
People with pancreatic or bile disorders.
Women with premenstrual syndrome.

The rejuvenating sources of Vitamin E

Do you want to know the natural sources or, in other words, the foods that contain vitamin E ? We have a specific post where we tell you absolutely everything about these delicious foods that should not be missing from your weekly shopping list and that also represent one of the best remedies against aging.

Symptoms of deficiency: the warning signs!

Unlike what happens with other nutrients, the symptoms of vitamin E deficiency are not very evident. To make matters more complex, diagnosis is also not simple due to the role that the mineral selenium plays in the body. However, there are certain symptoms that may indicate a possible vitamin E deficiency.

Here are the main ones!

Muscle weakness.
Lack of concentration.
Increased destruction of cell membranes.
Abnormal fat distribution in muscles.
Breakdown of red blood cells.
Greater susceptibility to infections.
Vision problems.
Dull skin and/or age spots.
Fatigue.
Inflammation and difficulty healing wounds.
Sterility.
Cardiovascular problems.

Does excess have consequences?

In principle, it is unlikely to talk about side effects. However, it is advisable to be cautious and avoid taking excessively high amounts over the long term.

A study conducted in the United States observed a slight risk of stroke in men who took 400 International Units on alternate days.

Another study, however, revealed that neither vitamin E nor vitamin D consumption had any influence related to the occurrence of adverse cardiovascular events.

The different results between studies suggest that other factors increase the risk.

What are the recommended amounts?

The U.S. National Institutes of Health recommends not exceeding the following upper limits for vitamin E intake (expressed in International Units):

AGE	MALE	FEMALE
Children
1 to 3 years	200 IU	200 IU
4 to 8 years	300 IU	300 IU
9 to under 13 years	600 IU	600 IU
Adolescents and adults
14 years to under 18 years	800 IU	800 IU
19 years and older	1000 IU	1000 IU
Pregnant women		1000 IU
Breastfeeding women		1000 IU

Does it have contraindications?

Compared to other fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin E is relatively low in toxicity when taken orally. Although this is undeniable, due to its popularity as a “pro-fertility” agent and its supposed effects on sexual potency, many people regularly consume it in doses far above the RDA, without negative health effects having been confirmed.

Be careful! This does not mean you can take vitamin E in high amounts for long periods of time, since it could interfere with vitamin K activity, potentially leading to blood clotting problems.

This does not change the fact that since this nutrient cannot be produced by the body, it must be supplied through diet or dietary supplements.

HSN vitamin E products improve liver function, increasing the breakdown of medications metabolized in the liver. These medications include lovastatin, itraconazole, ketoconazole and other drugs prescribed by doctors.

How to take Vitamin E supplements

Among the various forms, Tocopherol offers the highest bioavailability of vitamin E.

The dose per Vitamin E softgel is 266.66 mg, an amount that provides a high concentration to cover the nutrient reference values (NRV) of vitamin E in the population.

The recommendation, therefore, is to take 1 softgel of Vitamin E 400 IU per day, with a meal.

Buy Vitamin E

Check the opinion of the experts

Nothing is better than consulting authoritative voices on the subject to gather information about vitamin E. Within the scientific community, there seems to be consensus on two points:

Does it inhibit the appearance of cholesterol?
A clinical study involving no fewer than 40,000 people revealed that LDL cholesterol levels remain harmless as long as there is a sufficient amount of vitamin E to counteract them. Participants in this study took this nutrient regularly, experiencing a 37% reduction in heart problems.
Can deficiency during pregnancy cause asthma in children?
Recent research has shed light on the fact that women who consume low amounts of vitamin E during pregnancy increase the chances that their baby may develop asthma in the future.

Bibliographic Sources