What Vegetarians Need to Know About Vitamin E

Posted by: Sina Ghaboussi | Jan 29, 2010

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that has antioxidant activity. It exists in eight chemical forms with only one, alpha-tocopherol, that meets human requirements.

Antioxidants protect cells from the damaging affects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are formed when the body converts food to energy and from the environment. It is believed that antioxidants protect cells from damage and therefore help prevent or delay chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin E is also necessary for the immune function, cell signaling, regulation of gene expression, and other metabolic processes.

Multiple foods provide vitamin E. Good sources of vitamin E are nuts, seeds and vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, soybean and corn oil. Vitamin E is also found in green leafy vegetables, kiwi, mango, tomatoes, supplements and fortified cereals.  Vitamin E deficiency is rare and is usually seen in people with fat-malabsorption disorders, Crohn’s disease and cystic fibrosis. Deficiency symptoms include peripheral neuropathy (tingling and numbness in the lower extremities), inflammation of the muscles, eye disease, and impairment of the immune system.
 Although vitamin E deficiency is rare, vitamin supplementation has shown to be helpful in some populations. Vitamin E supplementation in people with moderate Alzheimer’s disease showed “significantly delayed functional deterioration and the need for institutionalization”. Vitamin E consumption was also associated with less cognitive decline in the elderly, not just those already suffering from Alzheimer’s. It is important for all vegetarians to take the minimum recommended daily allowance (RDA) either through food and or supplementation. It is especially important for those vegetarians suffering from mild cognitive decline or older than 65 to take a vitamin E supplement. It is difficult outside of vegetarian vitamins to find a vitamin E supplement that is not made with an animal-based gelatin capsule, so make sure your vitamin E supplement is made with a vegetable-based capsule.

The RDA for vitamin E for 0 to 6 months is 6 IU (international units) and for 7-12 months is 7.5 IU. For 1 to 3 year olds it’is 9 IU, for 4 to 8 years old it’s 10.4 IU. Nine to 13 years old is 16.4 IU. For 14 years old and older, pregnant women and breast-feeding moms is 22.4 IU.

Related Links:
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Article Source: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamine.asp

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