It is one of the essential vitamins, which means that our body cannot produce it itself and it must therefore be consumed through food.
Only a few people know that vitamin E is not a single substance, but a collective term for eight fat-soluble substances that are grouped under the chemical term “tocopherols”. For humans, alpha-tocopherol (α-TE) has the greatest biological efficacy.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant
Like vitamins A, C and B2, vitamin E is an antioxidant. Antioxidants can protect our body’s cells from harmful molecules called free radicals.
Free radicals occur naturally in many metabolic processes. However, external influences such as strong sunlight, ozone, environmental toxins, stress or smoking can also contribute to the formation of free radicals.
If free radicals are allowed to form unhindered, this is referred to as oxidative stress. Vitamin E is considered to have an antioxidant effect, as it helps to protect the cells from oxidative stress.
Vitamin E in food
Since vitamin E is fat-soluble, our body can only absorb the vitamin if fatty foods are eaten at the same time. In addition, it is considered to be sensitive to light, so large vitamin losses can occur due to incorrect storage of food.
Tocopherols are only formed by plants, which is why plant-based foods are good sources of vitamin E. In particular vegetable oils such as wheat germ oil, sunflower oil or safflower oil, but also nuts and cereal seedlings are rich in alpha-tocopherol.
The following is true: the higher the content of valuable unsaturated fatty acids in food, the higher the need for antioxidant substances.
Animal products can also contain vitamin E through the food chain, as animals consume the vitamin via plant-based foods. So milk, meat and eggs can also contribute to the daily supply of vitamin E – however, animal products contain far lower amounts of vitamin E than plant-based foods.
