What if I told you vitamin E could help you look younger, and stay looking that way? What if it not only helped you look younger, but also feel younger?
It’s true, vitamin E helps keep you young.
Vitamin E is found in many different foods. It is in meats (including eggs), fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Vegetable oils are a one common way people get this important vitamin in their diet. It dissolves in fat, and works as an antioxidant to reduce oxidative stress.
There are a few different forms of vitamin E, but one of the most common, and best for you, is the one you’ll find on a nutrition label, α-tocopherol. Tocopherol is the family name for vitamin E, but α-tocopherol is the form best absorbed by the body.
One of the biggest worries about aging isn’t about looking old, but about memory loss. Dementia can be devastating and can strip someone of their memories and personality. Vitamin E has shown to lessen the effects of Alzheimer’s and slows the onset of this disease.
Vitamin E can be especially important for high endurance athletes. High levels of physical output can cause an increase of lipid peroxidation, which in turn can lead to atherosclerosis. Supplementing with vitamin E showed to reduce this effect and protect against the formation of atherosclerosis.
Vitamin E helps slow down the physical appearance of aging in a number of ways.
We already mentioned it works as an antioxidant, but it has far greater potential than this. Vitamin E is often used to keep your skin and hair hydrated and healthy. It moisturizes the body from the inside out, though if you’re getting it in the form of oil, like wheat germ oil, you can slather it right onto your skin and scalp to keep it soft and hydrated.
There are a lot of benefits to keeping your scalp and hair hydrated. The practice will keep your hair healthier, and will also keep it thicker. This means you’ll have a fuller head of hair that breaks less easily, and you’ll have fewer split ends. On top of this, you can also make sure you’re getting appropriate levels of copper to keep your hair from greying.
It does a lot more for your skin than simply hydrating it. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of vitamin E minimizes the oxidative stress and pathological events in skin that causes the visible wear of aging skin.
It is very important to get at least the minimum dietary recommended value of vitamin E. This vitamin is critical for nervous system function. It is needed for proper hormone levels, and for neurological function.
According to Health Canada, the estimated average requirement is 12mg/d in adults, with a recommended dietary allowance of 15mg/day. There is an upper limit of 1000mg/d. Excessive intake of this vitamin will result in excessive bleeding, including increased risk of brain bleeds, as well as heart failure and a higher risk of developing cancer.
Wheat germ oil is the best source of vitamin E. 1 tablespoon of the oil (14g) contains 101% of your daily value of α-tocopherol. An important thing to keep in mind when adding vitamin E to your diet is that you will also be adding a lot of omega-6 to your diet. Look at wheat germ oil, it has 7398mg of omega-6 and only 932mg of omega-3 (based on a 14g serving size). That is a staggering difference, and if you’re supplementing your diet with vitamin E, you may need to boost your omega-3 intake. If you don’t, you could be looking at causing more harm than good by causing major inflammation.
Vitamin E in its proper levels is needed and will prove to be beneficial. Make sure that you’re complimenting the fatty acids to maximize its benefits and minimize inflammation.
