Vitamin E, also known as tocopherol, is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient for humans. It is believed that vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects cell membranes and other fat-soluble parts of the body, such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from damage.

Plays an essential role in:

• Vitamin E is the body’s most important fat-soluble antioxidant.
• It also appears to protect the body against cardiovascular disease.
• Decreases platelet adhesion, protects blood vessels against developing atherosclerotic lesions, and prevents LDL-cholesterol from being oxidized.
• During heavy exercise, vitamin E markedly reduces the amount of exercise-induced free radical damage to the blood and tissues, and also helps the body reduce the incidence of exercise-induced muscle injury.
• Helps the body protect the eyes against cataracts and macular degeneration.
• may be beneficial for people suffering from asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
• may also help protect skin from ultraviolet radiation and sunburns
• Vitamin E supplementation has been shown to enhance the immune system and support resistance to infection.

Vitamin E deficiency

Symptoms of vitamin E deficiency include: dry skin, dull dry hair, rupturing of red blood cells resulting in anemia, easy bruising, PMS, fibrocystic breasts, hot flashes, eczema, psoriasis, cataracts, benign prostatic hyperplasia, poor wound healing, muscle weakness, and sterility.

The effects of vitamin E deficiency in children can many times be reversed by supplementation

Natural vs. Synthetic Vitamin E

While there is only a slight difference between the natural and synthetic forms of most vitamins, when it comes to Vitamin E, natural is better. Natural vitamin E has approximately one and a half times the bioavailability of synthetic vitamin E.

Natural vitamin E contains alpha-tocopherol exclusively in an active form,  while synthetic vitamin E contains both active and inactive forms of alpha-tocopherol.

Click here for Vitamin E RDA  table