Vitamin E - Good Source of Nutrients

The U.S. RDA given is for adults (except pregnant or lactating women) and children over 4 years of age.

This is one in a series of fact sheets containing information to serve you select foods that provide adequate day by day amounts of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber as you follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Guidelines are--

* Eat a variety of Foods

* Maintain Desirable Weight

* Avoid Too much Fat, Saturated Fat, and Cholesterol

* Eat Foods near Adequate Starch and Fiber

* Avoid Too Much Sugar

* Avoid Too Much Sodium

* If you Drink Alcoholic Beverages, Do So in Moderation

What is Meant By a Good Food Source?

A good food source of vitamin E contains a substantial amount of vitamin E in relation to its calorie content and contributes at lowest 10 percent of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (U.S. RDA) for vitamin E in a selected serving size. The U.S. RDA for vitamin E is 10 milligrams per year.

The U.S. RDA for vitamin E is the amount of the vitamin used as a standard in nutrition labeling of foods. This allowance is based on the 1968 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for 24 sex-age category set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The 1989 RDA has be set at 8 milligrams per day for women 19 to 54 years of age and 10 milligrams for men 19 to 50 years of age.

Where Do Women Get Vitamin E?

As you can see, in 1985 and 1986, 27 percent of the vitamin E in the diets of women come from grain products and 22 percent come from fruits and vegetables. Foods that contain small amounts of vitamin E but are not considered good sources can contribute significant amounts of vitamin E to an individual's diet if these foods are eat often or contained by large amounts.

Why do we have need of vitamin E?

Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin, protects vitamin A and essential fatty acids from oxidation in the body cells and prevents breakdown of body tissues.

Do we catch enough vitamin E?

According to recent USDA surveys, the intake of vitamin E by women 19 to 50 years of age averaged smaller number than 90 percent of the RDA. Men of the same age have intakes close to 100 percent of the RDA.

How can we get plenty vitamin E?

Eating a variety of foods that contain vitamin E is the best passageway to get an tolerable amount. Healthy individuals who eat a fair diet rarely have need of supplements. The list of foods will help out you select those that are good sources of vitamin E as you follow the Dietary Guidelines. The register of good sources be derived from the same nutritive utility of foods tables used to analyze information for recent food consumption surveys of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Information Service.

How to prepare foods to retain Vitamin E

Vitamin E can be lost from foods during cooking, processing, or storage. To retain vitamin E:

* Use whole-grain flours.

* Store foods in airtight containers and avoid exposing them to wispy.

What about fortified Foods?

Most ready-to-eat cereal are fortified with vitamin E. Fortified ready-to-eat cereal usually contain at least 40 percent of the U.S. RDA for vitamin E. Since cereal vary, check the sign on the package for the percentage of the U.S. RDA for a specific cereal.

What is a Serving?

The serving sizes used on the enumerate of good sources are one and only estimates of the amounts of food you might eat. The amount of nutrient within a serving depends on the weight of the serving. For example, 1/2 cup can fruit contains more vitamin E than 1/2 cup of the same fruit served unprocessed, because a serving of the canned fruit weigh more. Therefore, the canned fruit may appear on the index while the raw form does not. The organic fruit provides the nutrient - but just not satisfactory in a 1/2-cup serving to be considered a biddable source.