“Eat all of your veggies! You’ll need those vitamins when you’re all grown up.” Bet you keep hearing that in the back of your mind nowadays a lot, don’t you? Indeed, our mothers were right when they were pestering us to leave no trace of spinach and broccoli on the plate. 

If we want to lead a healthy lifestyle, Vitamin E, in particular, should be one of our best chemical friends from infancy and all the way to our 100th birthday. It is a great ally in the fight with so many illnesses, it helps hair growh and prevents aging. “Yup…definitely should’ve eaten that last broccoli head”. Here’s why:

Table of Contents:

• Where Can Vitamin E Be Found
• The Health Benefits of Vitamin E
• The Hair & Skin Benefits of Vitamin E

Where Can Vitamin E Be Found

Vitamin E is usually found in: 

• Animal products, such as goose and chicken meat, and many types of seafood;
• Seeds and nuts like sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts;
• Fruits like avocado, mangos, and blackberries;
  
  
• Green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli;
• Vegetable oils like hazelnut oil, sunflower oil, and wheat germ oil.

Not having a balanced diet and suffering from low levels of vitamin E can affect the nervous system and the muscles it controls. You can even end up suffering from impaired vision, muscle pain, a general sense of weakness, as well as coordination problems. All of these are signs given by your body to alert you of its poor condition. AKA a big red flag for you to up that vitamin E intake!

Generally, vitamin E is found in varying quantities in almost all foods, so there are rare cases of vitamin E deficiency, unless some disorders stop the organism from functioning correctly. Adults should have a daily intake of 15 mg of vitamin E. We can use Vitamin E supplements or choose foods rich in it.

Among the causes of vitamin E deficiency, genetics might be the main culprit. It's always good to keep track of diseases and conditions that have run through your family because it will be easier to find out about your own health problems and will give you leads as to what should be tested in the future. 

Some conditions to keep in mind that might reduce the absorption of fat and Vitamin E are the following: 

• Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that restricts lung activity, making it hard to breathe over time, creating mucus that clogs the airways, and restricting the release of digestive enzymes, which help with fat and nutrient absorption.

• Cholestatic liver disease – this disease occurs when the secretion of bile from the liver is blocked. Bile is a fluid that helps the digestion of foods.

The Health Benefits of Vitamin E

Vitamin E refers to a group of eight fat-soluble compounds stored in the liver and fatty tissue, waiting to be used when it is needed. If we start to use vitamin E regularly, it can help with a large variety of health problems, including: 

Oxidative stress 

Oxidative stress is considered a cause for hair loss, wrinkles and other aging signs, and it usually happens when there is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are unstable atoms with an uneven number of electrons that can damage cells. Antioxidants can neutralize the effects of free radicals because they can pass an electron of their own to even out the number, without harming themselves. 

When there are not enough antioxidants to defend the cells, oxidative stress happens. Vitamin E works as an antioxidant, so it protects the cells from free radicals. 

A great ally against diabetes 

Diabetes is a condition that appears when blood sugar is too high, and the body doesn't produce enough insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas which helps transport the glucose from food into the cells to be turned into energy. 

Oxidative stress plays a role in the advancement and symptoms of diabetes as well, so taking vitamin E supplements or eating vitamin E rich foods may help to delay and control any complications. Of course, more thorough studies are yet to be undergone, but those that have been done so far show promising results. 

Treats osteoarthritis symptoms 

This is a strong claim, and more human studies on the effects of vitamin E on osteoarthritis are needed before a medical verdict is reached. 

Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition that makes the joints stiff and causes overall pain. Some studies have shown interesting results in terms of vitamin E’s positive effects in combatting the illness. These could be due to its antioxidative properties since oxidative stress, as we’ve previously explained, is linked to many disorders. 

The Hair & Skin Benefits of Vitamin E

Beyond the many health benefits it provides, vitamin E can have an incredibly positive impact on both our skin health and our hair growth. If you’re looking to integrate it into your regular skin care/hair care routine, here’s what you can look forward to: 

Anti-aging properties for skin 

Vitamin E is a common ingredient in products formulated for women with mature skin, since it's such a good antioxidant. As mentioned, oxidative stress can increase the early signs of aging, so vitamin E is the perfect solution to that. 

It also has alleged wound-healing effects, and it’s supposed to be able to protect the skin against UV rays, but more research is still needed on the topic. 

Facilitates hair growth 

The benefits of vitamin E for hair are numerous – it improves hair growth, hair health and our hair's look. Most importantly, it has been shown to increase blood flow, which means an accelerated rate of active hair growth. Therefore, switching up your regular hair products for products rich in vitamin E, such as an argan oil conditioner, for instance, is one of the best healthy hair investments you can make. A hair conditioner rich in vitamin E will be a great asset to dry and damaged hair.

Nevertheless, as you well know, a conditioner is not meant to be applied on the scalp, so choose a vitamin E enriched hair oil or other type of hair treatment that can be applied on scalp to pair it up with. 

Even better, not only can vitamin E reduce and prevent hair loss and help with hair growth directly, but it can do so indirectly too, by contributing to the scalp and hair’s health. For example, it may help with reducing sebum production and moisturizing the scalp. Hair oils that are rich in vitamin E can seal the hair strand, reducing frizz, breakage, and protecting it from external damage and similar stress factors. 

If you want to learn more about how to prevent hair loss and enhance hair growth, discover all the benefits of apple cider vinegar and onion oil.