4 Best Vitamin E Sources (And How to Make Sure Your Body Can Use It)

March 9, 2019 American Council on Exercise Off Natural Health News

Vitamin E is one of the main antioxidants in the body._[1,2] It is essential for the nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive, musculoskeletal, and other systems to work properly. As an antioxidant, it can play a role in preventing diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and even age-related macular degeneration._[3-9]

An estimated 90% of American adults don’t consume enough vitamin E in their diets to meet the recommended daily requirements._[3]

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Vitamin E Sources to Boost Your Intake

To get more vitamin E from your diet, load up on these foods:

Nuts, especially almonds and hazelnuts
Vegetable oils (from things like sunflower, safflower, soybean, and wheat germ)
Seeds, like sunflower seeds
Green leafy vegetables, like spinach and chard

Keep in mind that vitamin E is fat-soluble, so you’ll need to eat it or take it with some form of fat; otherwise, you’re body wont absorb the vitamin E and it won’t get to where its needed. If you’re eating a leafy green salad, for example, add some nuts or a homemade salad dressing made with oil to increase the absorption of vitamin E.

If you prefer to take a supplement, look for a multivitamin or a single supplement that provides 12 to 15 mg of vitamin E._[3,10]

Vitamin E also works alongside vitamin C, so sufficient levels of vitamin C are important too for optimizing vitamin E activity in the body._[1]

When This Isn’t Enough

There is accumulating evidence that high levels of vitamin E circulating in the blood don’t necessarily mean that your body has enough vitamin E, or that it is getting to the tissues in the body where it is needed._[3]

This is because numerous factors can affect the absorption of vitamin E, including whether you eat it with fat, whether you have excessively high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, or whether you have certain medical conditions.

Do You Need More Vitamin E Than Other People?

Common health issues may make it harder for your body to use vitamin E effectively and they may increase your need for getting more of this vitamin.

Metabolic syndrome. People with metabolic syndrome (a collection of conditions including impaired blood sugar function, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and abdominal obesity) have lower levels of alpha-tocopherol (an important form of vitamin E) compared to controls. On top of this, people with metabolic syndrome seem to absorb less of the vitamin E they eat, which leads researchers to suggest that they actually require more vitamin E than normal._[11]
High cholesterol or triglycerides. Vitamin E circulates with lipids in the blood. When we have excessively high lipids, like cholesterol and triglycerides, vitamin E essentially gets stuck circulating in the bloodstream, unable to be distributed throughout the body. Read more about how high cholesterol and triglycerides might be stopping your from getting enough vitamin E here.
People who are obese also likely need more vitamin E._[3] A recent study suggests that this may be because vitamin E circulates in the body alongside lipids, and that the tissues of obese people won’t let the lipids in, or the vitamin E that is associated with them._[10]

If you have one of these conditions that could be impairing your vitamin E absorption, consult with your doctor to determine how to best boost your vitamin E to the appropriate level.

Take Action Now With These Vitamin E Sources

To get your vitamin E levels where they need to be:

Eat plenty of dietary sources of vitamin E, along with some healthy fat
Consider a supplement
Eat vitamin C-rich foods or take a vitamin C supplement
Work with your physician if you have a medical condition that is reducing your vitamin E levels.

Share Your Experience

How do you make sure you get enough vitamin E? What are your favorite vitamin E sources? Share your tips for boosting your intake in the comments section below.

This article was originally published in 2015. It is regularly updated.

[1] Free Radic Biol Med. 2014 Jan;66:3-12.

[2] Korean J Intern Med. 2015 Sep;30(5):571-9.

[3] Adv Nutr. 2014 Sep;5(5):503-14.

[4] Br J Nutr. 2014 Nov 14;112(9):1575-85.

[5] Br J Cancer. 2015 Jun 30;113(1):182-92.

[6] Med Sci Monit. 2015 Nov 8;21:3420-6.

[7] Med Sci Monit. 2015 May 1;21:1249-55.

[8] Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015 Apr 15;8(4):6631-7.

[9] Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2014 Feb 15;306(4):F422-9.

[10] Science Daily News Release. 2015 Nov 2.

[11] Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Nov;102(5):1070-80.