Antioxidant - Vitamin E
Vitamin E prolongs the life of useful cells in the body and prevents ageing. For example the Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC) of people who do not take Vitamin E supplements age faster, than the RBC’s of people who take the supplement. Vitamin E also maintains the power of Vitamin A and Vitamin C by protecting them from free radical activity.
Vitamin E is also capable of stopping - wildly increasing free radical chain reaction as it is happening. It also prevents peroxidation of lipids. Cell membranes need to be protected, as they are comprised of lipids. Even if once oxidation or peroxidation takes place, it damages the membranes, and nutrients are unable to pass through them properly. Scanty nutrients will starve the cell and kill it. And excess of nutrients will cause the cell to grow irregularly. The body fails to function properly and disease sets in if too many cells are damaged or destroyed. Vitamin E protects cell membrane and combats disease.
Vitamin E is a fat (lipid) soluble vitamin and functions in the cell membranes and other fatty areas of the body. Just like oils, every cell and cell membrane of the body can become stale and spoil. Adding a few drops of Vitamin E to it can prevent the rancidity of cooking oils. This will increase the life of the oil. When polyunsaturated fatty acid increases in the diet, Vitamin E is also required inside your body. The reason is that unsaturated fat is more susceptible to oxidation. Intake of large amounts of unsaturated fats without extra Vitamin E will utilize the body’s supply of the vitamin.
Vitamin E strengthens the cell membranes, and it can ward off free radical attack from oxidation compounds of cigarette smoke, smog and other toxic products. A single molecule of Vitamin E is capable of protecting 1,000 membrane-lipid-molecules from peroxidation. The presence of Vitamin C further intensifies the protection. Vitamin E protects the cell against damage that can further lead to cancerous mutations. And thus prevents cancer.
It also found beneficial in reducing risk of heart disease.
Reduction in resistance towards infection, production of fewer T-cells, decreased size of lymphatic organs and weakened White Blood Cell function are all results of deficiency of Vitamin E. On the other hand enhanced anti-body response and immunity response, improved white cell activity are associated with high levels of Vitamin E. Thereby supplementation of Vitamin E is beneficial to the body.
Dosageof Vitamin E
400 I.U. of Vitamin E daily is the typical dosage, and people who followed this experienced a decrease in the susceptibility of lipid peroxidation. But for people above 40 years, 400 IU twice daily is found beneficial, because with age our antioxidant functions, function less efficiently.
Synthetic forms of Vitamin E are absorbed only in small portions by the body as compared to natural forms. Natural forms of Vitamin E are 36% more active than synthetic forms. So remember to buy Natural Vitamin E (D-alpha-tocopherol) and avoid DL-alpha-tocopherol, which is synthetic form.