All you need to know about Vitamin E

Welcome back, lovelies. Today we'll be talking about an essential vitamin, which is the vitamin E. vitamin E 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 actually to prevent heart disease. Vitamin E can also help contain any existing heart disease and stop it from getting worse.

The vitamin E is also vital in protecting the cell membranes from the harmful free radicals that are present in the body. Without the vitamin e, amongst others, the cell membranes would be damaged and this could lead to serious health problems, including cancer. The vitamin E is so effective against free radicals because it is fat-soluble therefore, it can be absorbed into the cell membranes. Not to mention, the vitamin e 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, the more of the e vitamin 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 e 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 regular diet but the food that a person eats must contain a little fat to help with the absorption of the e vitamin.

A few medical conditions 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 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, primarily through the intestine. Of course, as fat is required to help absorb sufficient 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.