Putting the spotlight on vitamin E
A member of the fat-soluble group of vitamins (I like to think of the two vitamin groups as having a bit of a Blur vs. Oasis thing going on, but maybe that’s just me), vitamin E only ever seems to be discussed in the context of skincare and anti-aging in most health publications.
While it’s certainly true that vitamin E plays an important part in maintaining healthy skin, and so is often held up by beauty editors as the elixir of youth, there’s a whole lot more to this vitamin than just fine lines.
What do we mean when we talk about vitamin E?
The term ‘vitamin E’ is actually an umbrella term encompassing a total of 8 different substances. Although all 8 are digested in the body in much the same way once they reach the liver it’s alpha-tocopherol that wins out.
A key transport protein in the liver (Alpha-TPP) is able to bind with the alpha-tocopherol form of vitamin E much more easily than it can with the others. As a result, alpha-tocopherol is found in much higher levels in the body which makes it more bio-available than its siblings, and is the form of vitamin we’re usually talking about when we discuss vitamin E.
Ok, enough of the science chat, what does it actually do?
A busy, multi-purpose, multi-functional vitamin, E acts as a co-factor in enzyme reactions vital for:
· maintaining normal conditions in our cells
· supporting the immune system
· maintaining healthy skin and nails
· Protecting red-blood cells
It’s also associated with fertility, muscle and nerve membrane maintenance, lung protection, and preventing blood clots. Phew.
Small person, GINORMOUS olive trees.
But it’s most significant role is as an antioxidant. Working alongside the other antioxidant micronutrients - the main ones being E, C and selenium - as part of an antioxidant network, vitamin E helps to protect cells from oxidative damage caused by free radicals in the body (eg. cigarette smoke, air pollution, and radiation).
Free radicals by the way, are molecules on a scavenger hunt, desperately attempting to gain an electron to make up for the one missing on their outer shells. Without this electron they can oxidise, destabilise, and damage any other molecules they come into contact with (basically, they remind me of myself when hangry…). Too many free radicals in the body causes oxidative stress, a factor in chronic illnesses like cancer, atherosclerosis, and cataracts.
Antioxidants however, take one for the team, and can donate an electron to stabilise the free radical without themselves becoming damaged. It’s for this reason that vitamin E is often added to foods and animal feed to prevent spoilage, and of course to skin care creams to combat aging.
What’s the story?
One of the more enigmatic of the vitamins, research is still ongoing to determine vitamin E’s exact effects in the human body.
A strange paradox seems to exist where despite vitamin E’s known anti-oxidant qualities, very high doses taken in supplement form during experiments investigating whether antioxidants can prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, appear to have the opposite effect.
The SELECT trial testing vitamin E and selenium supplementation famously had to be halted early when those men taking vitamin E were found to have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
However, all this probably tells us is that we should be wary of taking any micronutrient in extremely high doses. The amount given to the participants in the SELECT trial (400 IU, or 264 mg/day) is a whopping 6,500% increase on the amount recommended in the UK for adults.
Moreover, as those micronutrients with antioxidant qualities work together in the body in an interconnected network, taking a high dose of just one of these micronutrients in isolation may well affect the entire system in ways we don’t yet know much about. As ever, eating foods naturally high in vitamin E is the best way to make sure you’re hitting your RDA.
How do I meet my RDA for vitamin E?
Numbers wise, things are a little sketchy. There’s no RNI set in the UK by the government for vitamin E, although the NHS recommends 4+ mg/day for adult men, and 3+ mg/day for adult women. This is partly due to the fact that if you eat a mostly healthy diet, vitamin E is actually pretty easy to find. In fact, unlike its more vexing cousin vitamin D, it’s actually very difficult to become deficient in vitamin E.
Vegetable oils - like sunflower, wheatgerm, corn, and flaxseed oils - nuts and seeds such as hazelnuts and pine nuts, dark green veg, avocado, eggs, dairy, sweet potato, whole grains and meat (especially offal) are all good sources. Despite its numerous benefits, this is one rare occasion where olive oil doesn’t win out. Sunflower and wheatgerm oils are higher in the alpha-tocopherol type of vitamin E than olive oil is.
In the US, which does set a daily recommended intake amount (DRI), 15mg/day is recommended for adult men and women. Interestingly enough, since 2001 only alpha-tocopherol counts towards your daily intake of E in the US, which means that many Americans would benefit from reducing the amount of soybean oil in their diet (a favourite amongst US food manufacturers), and boosting their intake of sunflower and olive oil instead.
If you’re in need of a bit of inspiration, check out our easy recipes for getting more vitamin E into your diet in the micronutrient recipe store.
References
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-E.aspx
Price, C. (2016) The Vitamin Complex. London, Oneworld Publications, p. 265-6.