| Functions |
- Anti-oxidant and preservative as useful in antioxidant therapy and lipid membrane repair
- prevents oxidative damage to fatty acids (peroxidation) in body cell (phospholipids) membranes
- cells at high risk from oxidative damage cells include:
- erythrocytes (red blood cells)
- neurons (nervous system)
- lung epithelium (lining of the lungs)
- Heart protective – protecting the heart from damage caused by chemotherapy when combined with vitamin A and vitamin C
- Vitamin E protects vitamin A and promotes its storage
- Treats:
- Immunosuppression and autoimmune disorders
- Alzheimer’s Disease (helps to clear inflammatory toxic plaque in the brain)
- Neuropathy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Tardive dyskinesia
- Intermittent claudication (circulatory issue involving severely reduced blood flow to the extremities)
- Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation disorders
- Macular Degeneration (caused by toxic load in eyes: NB smoking can cause this)
- Infertility, Myopathy, Diabetes, Periodontal Disease
|
| Sources notes |
- Best sources in plant and seed oils
- Content in food lowered through heat and food processing
- Vitamin C restores vitamin E to its normal antioxidant state: best to take together (1+1=3)
|
| Vegetable Sources |
spinach; asparagus; carrots; peas; tomato |
| Fruit Sources |
Banana, Avocado |
| Nut and seed sources |
Sunflower seeds and oil; safflower oil; almonds; sesame seed and sesame oil; peanuts and peanut oil; corn oil; wheat germ; brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds; pecans; walnuts |
| Absorption and function notes |
- Vitamin E acts as preservative preventing lipid oxidation
- More is required when intake of polyunsaturated fats is increased due to the volatility of those fats and ease by which they can turn rancid / be subject to lipid oxidation
- Fat soluble – fat enhances absorption
|
| Deficiency factors |
- Huge range of actions attributed to this vitamin – deficiency disrupts any physiologic processes that depend on the integrity of the cell membrane
- Symptoms: weakness; poor coordination; susceptibility to infections; poor wound healing; fatigue
- Infant deficiency: impacts nervous system (reduced or absent deep tendon reflexes)
|
| Toxicity |
- One of the safest vitamins
- Vitamin E and aspirin combined may increase gum bleeding
|
Adapted from:
Murray, M. (2005). Encyclopedia of Healing Food. New York, N.Y.: Atria Books
Bland, J., Costarella, L., Levin, B., Liska, D., Lukaczer, D., Schlitz, B., Schmidt, M., Lerman, R., Quinn, S., Jones, D. (2004). Clinical Nutrition: A Functional Approach, Second Edition. Gig Harbor, WA: The Institute for Functional Medicine.
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