Vitamin E
Many people take vitamin E supplements on a daily basis. On a recent surgery, more than 37 million Americans consume some form of vitamin E every day. Do you know why? What exactly is vitamin E?
What is vitamin E?
Vitamin E is a very powerful antioxidant that works to protect cells in your body from free radicals and the damage that they cause. Free radicals are reactive substance that can come from normal metabolism, in addition to exposure in less than healthy environments like cigarette smoke and pollution. Free radicals cause damage to your body’s cells by attacking your cell membranes, DNA, and protein, and overall contribute to the development of health and heart problems.
Vitamin E is crucial in protecting blood cells, the central nervous sytem, your skeletal muscle, and your eyes retinas.
How much vitamin E do you need?
The daily requirement for each person varies with gender, age, and overall health. It also matters how much polyunsaturated fat you consume during your diet. Polyunsaturated fats can be easily oxidized, thus if you have a high consumption level of polyunsaturated fats, their is an increased need for vitamin E.
The RDA, or recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E is 15 milligrams. Typically, most Americans consume roughly 8 to 12 milligrams per day through their diet. This leaves room for supplementation.
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Over 95% of the people in the U.S. don’t know anything about the different forms of vitamin E in nature and in supplement form.
An individual’s decision on how much vitamin E to take…and the form(s)to take as a supplement should depend upon their age, diet, level of health and health goals.
Educating the public at large about the different forms of Tocopherols & Tocotrienols could have a HUGE impact on people’s quality of life.
Almost everyone taking a supplement knows only about ONE form of vitamin E…the inferior Alpha Tocopherol that is used in all multi-vitamins and antioxidant formulas.
As trusted providers of information on nutritional supplements, we need to educate the American people on how to find & use the most efficacious vitamin E supplements high in Gamma Tocopherol and palm oil- and annatto seed-derived Tocotrienols.