Foods Containing Vitamin E

Most people certainly enjoy a delightful helping of sweet potato, every Thanksgiving. Many just claim that it is a very good source of many nutrients like carbohydrates, fats and vitamin A. Many of us don't realize that it is also a very common and reliable source of vitamin E that is an important necessity for the body.

What is Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a type of vitamin that are a classification of nutrients, derived out of intake of food. This vitamin is a formation or a family of 8 antioxidants, 4 tocopherols and tocotrienols. The basic functions that are executed by the vitamins in the body are, prevention of oxidation of vitamin A and fatty acids. Vitamin E is soluble fats and dissolves immediately after the process of digestion in fats to prevent unnecessary oxidation. It also prevents oxidation of vitamin A in body cells and protects tissues from breakdown. The following is the recommended daily intake of vitamin E.

Age	Recommended Daily Intake
Birth-6 months	4 mg
7-12 months	5 mg
1-3 years	6 mg
4-8 years	7 mg
9-13 year	11 mg
14 years and above	15 mg

Foods Containing Vitamin E

Though the amount of vitamin E, is found in minuscule quantities, it is very essential for the body. Oils and margarine, and many fats have a good amount of vitamin E stored in them. Some of the other common sources of this vitamin are the margarine from corn, cottonseeds, soybean, safflower and wheat germs. Nuts, grams and pulses also have a very good quantity of vitamin E. It should be noted that storage and heating or reheating destroys vitamin E. The following table gives the detailed amount of vitamin E that is found in commonly consumed food products.

Food	Quantity	Milligrams	Percentage of Daily Consumption
Wheat germ oil	1 table spoon	20.3	100
Dry and roasted almonds	1 ounce	7.4	40
Dry and roasted sunflower seeds	1 ounce	6.0	30
Sunflower oil	1 tablespoon	5.6	28
Safflower oil	1 tablespoon	4.6	25
Dry and roasted Hazelnuts	1 ounce	4.3	22
Peanut butter	2 tablespoons	2.9	15
Peanuts	1 ounce	2.2	11
Corn oil	1 tablespoon	1.9	10
Boiled spinach	half cup	1.9	10
Boiled broccoli	half cup	1.2	6
Soybean oil	1 tablespoon	1.1	6
Kiwifruit	1 medium sized fruit	1.1	6
Mango	half a cup slices	0.9	5
Raw spinach	1 cup	0.6	4

A daily intake of vitamin E is recommended, especially for growing children and aging adults. Healthy and tasty combination of food containing vitamin E, can also be made. Different types of fish, fat containing foods, oils, etc. can be used to fulfill the quota of daily consumption. In case of small children, delicious tomato soup made in milk and a delightful peanut butter sandwich works wonders. On the other hand the adults can have a spinach salad topped with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. This consumption of vitamin E will ensure a very healthy heart and a sound respiratory system.