A deficiency in any vitamin or mineral can cause health problems, and so some people turn to certain supplements to give themselves a wellness boost. However, though vitamin E is very important for your body, it has been suggested that supplementing with this particular vitamin is actually detrimental to your wellbeing, and so it’s better to get the vitamin E you need from your food.
But why do you need vitamin E in the first place? Firstly, vitamin E contains powerful antioxidants which remove disease-causing free radicals from your body. Vitamin E is also good for your skin, reduces cellular ageing, prevents blood clotting, protects your lungs from pollutants, boosts your immune system, and fights cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
So that’s the vitamin, but where do you find it? Firstly, if you want a rich source of vitamin E and many more antioxidants, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, should become your new best friends. Mustard greens are one such green, leafy vegetable and, when eaten raw or half-boiled, is one of the richest sources of vitamin E.
When it comes to your non-leafy vegetables, red vegetables, and bell peppers in particular, have a high content of vitamin E, as well as vitamin C and other powerful antioxidants. Broccoli is another wellness superfood that, aside from vitamin E, is also packed with vitamins like A, C, D and K, but you should consume this vegetable raw or steamed to get the most out of it.
However, it’s not just the foods you eat, but how you season them, that can give you a vitamin E boost. Adding herbs such as dried basil or oregano to your salads, soups and Italian dishes can up your intake of vitamin E, as can spices like red chilli powder or paprika, which also contain added antioxidants. You can add even more flavour to your meal with pickled olive greens, and there’s 100 grams of vitamin E in a single serving of this pickle.
You can up your vitamin E intake at snack times, as well as at meal times. Almonds are a healthy, antioxidant and vitamin E-packed snack option, as are pistachios. However, make sure your pistachios are unsalted and not roasted, as roasting the nuts takes away most of the nutrients and vitamins. Finally, the a-tocopherol in peanuts is a powerful and soluble vitamin E antioxidant that regulates the cell membranes of your mucus gland, and, if that wasn’t enough, peanuts protect your skin from harmful oxygen free radicals.
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