A Guide To The Vitamin E
By Sam Cyrus

Vitamin E is an essential vitamin to improve the overall health of your heart and also is extremely important for a variety of functions in the body. Your heart is one of the most important organs in your body, which is why you should always take care of it. A healthy heart needs plenty of the vitamin E as it has been shown to actually prevent heart disease. The vitamin E can also help contain any existing heart disease and stop it from getting worse.

Vitamin E is also vital in protecting the cell membranes from the harmful free radicals that are present in the body. Without  vitamin E, amongst others, the cell membranes would be damaged and this could lead to serious health problems, including cancer. The reason that the vitamin E is so effective against free radicals is that it is fat soluble so it can be absorbed into the cell membranes. The vitamin E is therefore essential for the immune system.

To help you keep your heart healthy, most doctors recommend that you take additional supplements that contain vitamin E. The recommended daily amount of the vitamin E that a person requires depends on their body weight. They may also suggest that you eat foods that are naturally rich in vitamin E. However, the only foods that really contain any reasonable amount of the vitamin E are vegetable oils, seeds, wheat germ, and nuts.  Nuts have high amounts of vitamin E, and most of them taste great. You can find other foods that contain vitamin E as well, although nuts have the highest amounts. It is for this reason that most people should take some form of vitamin E supplement.

When taken correctly, vitamin E will also stop the cholesterol in the body from harming the arteries that surround the heart. Anytime cholesterol oxidizes, it sticks to the sides of the arteries and can lead to blockages which can cause heart attacks or other serious problems with the heart.

A deficiency of the vitamin E does not affect a person immediately. In fact, it can take months for the effects of insufficient vitamin E to be detected. After years of vitamin E deficiency there may e some detectable damage to the nerves of the spinal cord or retina of the eye but this is very rare. Most people obtain enough vitamin E from a normal diet but it is essential that the food that a person eats contains a little fat to help with the absorption of the vitamin E.

There are a few medical conditions that may lead to a deficiency of the vitamin E and may require the person to take vitamin E supplements. Cystic fibrosis causes a person to be unable to digest fats well which leads to less of the vitamin E being absorbed. Crohn’s disease causes to lower absorption rates of the vitamin E and a supplement may be necessary. Some forms of liver disease can also lead to problems absorbing the vitamin E, especially through the intestine. Of course, as fat is required to help absorb sufficient amounts of the vitamin E, anyone on an extremely low-fat diet will need to discuss their options for increasing the amount of  vitamin that their body needs.