Vitamin E Deficiency: How To Identify And Treat It
Vitamin E is the name of eight fat-soluble vitamins known as tocopherols and tocotrienols, with antioxidant qualities that are vital for maintaining healthy skin and a strong immune system.
Based on early research, Vitamin E may increase blood flow, thus preventing hair loss and improving hair health in general. Vitamin E has also shown to add shine to your hair and balancing oil production by creating a protective barrier on the skin’s surface. Furthermore, according to a study conducted in 1999, high doses of vitamin E may increase blood flow to the eyes in people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Fortunately, vitamin E can be found in a wide range of foods and might even be added to certain food products to increase your intake. That’s why it is unlikely to develop the vitamin E deficiency unless you have an underlying health condition. Premature babies whose birth weight is very low (less than 1.5 grams) are also most likely to be diagnosed with a deficiency.
However, if your diet doesn’t include enough foods rich in vitamin E, you may be at risk, thus becoming more prone to infections, suffer from muscle weakness, experience impaired eyesight, and general unwellness.
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How much vitamin E do you need?
Children:
From 1 to 3 years old: 6 mg/day
From 4 to 8 years old: 7 mg/day
From 9 to 13 years old: 11 mg/day
Women:
14 years and up – 15 mg/day
Pregnant women- 15 mg/day
Breastfeeding women – 19 mg/day
Males:
14 years and up – 15 mg/day
What causes vitamin E deficiency?
If your daily intake of Vitamin E is below the recommended levels shown above, this will lead to Vitamin E deficiency. Hence, you should consume the suggested amount or take dietary supplements.
Deficiency of this vitamin is usually caused by poor diet habits, i.e. a diet deficient of vegetables and fruits. However, another factor to cause vitamin E deficiency is also genetics, as it often runs in families. That’s why looking at your family history can make it easier to diagnose rare and inherited diseases related to vitamin E. Two of such these diseases include, congenital abetalipoproteinemia and Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED). They are chronic and lead to very low vitamin E levels.
But, Vitamin E deficiency can also be a result of other underlying conditions, which prevents your body to sufficiently absorb fats, including fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin E. This is because your body needs fat to absorb vitamin E properly.
According to Medical News Today and Healthline, most common underlying conditions include:
– cholestasis liver disease
– chronic pancreatitis
– primary biliary cirrhosis
– cystic fibrosis
– short bowel syndrome
– Crohn’s disease
Vitamin E Deficiency Symptoms
See below a rundown of the most common symptoms of vitamin E deficiency :
– Digestive system problems, which causes poor absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract. This results in diseases in pancreas, gallbladder, liver, etc.
– Muscular pain or weakness: Vitamin E is essential to the central nervous system, that’s why a lack of this vitamin will result in oxidative stress, which can lead to muscle weakness.
– Tingling and numbness sensation: Vitamin E deficiency might lead to damaged nerve fibers, thus preventing the nerves from transmitting signals correctly.
– Having difficulty with walking or coordination: A deficiency of vitamin E can cause certain neurons (Purkinje neurons) to break down, thus harming their ability to transmit signals.
– Weak immune system: According to some research, a vitamin E deficiency can affect the immune cells, leading to immune system problems.
– Visual disturbances: When the vitamin E intake is below the recommended level, the light receptors of your retina and other eye cells will weaken. This might lead to loss of vision over time.
– Dry hair or loss of hair.
Vitamin E Deficiency Treatment
You should only work on treating a suspected and possible vitamin E deficiency after consulting your doctor. However, a proper diet enriched with healthy food is always recommended.
Diet
Vitamin E can be found in a wide range of foods. According to Healthline, these are some of the foods rich in Vitamin E:
– Wheat germ oil – 135% DV per serving
– Sunflower seeds – 66% DV per serving
– Almonds – 48% DV per serving
– Hazelnut oil – 43% DV per serving
– Mamey sapote – 39% DV per serving
– Sunflower oil – 37% DV per serving
– Almond oil – 36% DV per serving
– Hazelnuts – 28% DV per serving
– Peanuts – 16% DV per serving
– Avocado – 14% DV per serving
– Mango – 10% DV per serving
– Kiwifruit – 7% DV per serving
Supplementation
Taking vitamins in supplement form is a popular way to include vitamins and minerals to your diet. However, one should be very cautious and consult the doctor before taking them.
Supplements aren’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, therefore it can be difficult to determine the quality of them and the types of vitamin they contain. Some supplements might contain only one type of vitamin E, which might not be the type of vitamin your body needs.
On the other hand, concentrated supplements may contain more vitamin E than you need, which according to Mayo Clinic can lead to side effects and further complications. That’s why it’s always better to enrich your diet with vitamins and minerals over your medications list.
Remember: You should only take vitamin E supplementation under your doctor’s supervision.
However, deficiencies of different vitamins may be manifested by similar symptoms, therefore, it is important to be informed about each and every vitamin deficiency symptoms to easier distinguish and detect your condition.
Read more about it here: Vitamin Deficiency Common Symptoms And Health Risks
Disclaimer: The contents of this article: text, graphics, images, and other materials contained are strictly for informational purposes only. The Content is NOT intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, advice, or treatment. Please ALWAYS seek the advice of a qualified health provider with all the questions that you have related to, or about, a medical condition.