Without daily intake of vitamins, it makes no sense to rely on excellent health and even just feeling good. From these substances, as if from bricks, our body is built, and if one of the bricks is missing, the wall can collapse. So is human health - with a deficiency of at least one vitamin, serious diseases can develop. Let's talk about vitamin E (another name is tocopherol) and its role in the human body.
Essential Vitamins for Human Health
Medicine has identified several important components, without which it is impossible to have good health. These are vitamin A, group B, C, E, and D.
The periods of human life requiring a high content of vitamins and minerals in the diet:
- Puberty - both boys and girls need increased dosages of vitamins A, C, D, E. With a lack of them in the diet, skeleton growth slows down and the necessary sex hormones are not produced.
- The period of pregnancy and lactation in women requires a high content of vitamin E, since it affects the production of progesterone, estradiol and other hormones that are responsible for the course of pregnancy and the woman’s ability to bear the fetus.
- Periods of increasing incidence of colds - saturation with vitamins will increase the body's defenses and strengthen immunity well. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is especially valuable in this case.
- Responsible work, requiring constant concentration on the result, requires the appearance of fortified foods in the diet. As an option - buy a complex of vitamins in a pharmacy, which will become a source of vital substances for the body.
Vitamins A, C, E in tablets: names in a pharmacy
"Aekol", "Aevit" - these preparations contain high doses of vitamins A and E. "Retinol" contains only vitamin A.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is sold in any pharmacy under the trade names Ascorbin, Terafot.
B vitamins are very important for the nervous system, drugs with them are not dietary supplements, but full-fledged drugs. These are Milgamma, Neuromultivit, Combibipen, Pentovit, Pyridoxine, Riboflavin, Thiamine forte.
Preparations with vitamin E (tocopherol) in the composition are sold under the trade names Enat 400, VitAE, Euzovit, Doppelherz Vitamin E Forte.
Vitamins A and E for children (the name is "Aevit") are needed on a daily basis. Be sure to check with your pediatrician if you can give your child this dietary supplement.
Now you know the names of vitamins A, E, C in tablets.
What happens with retinol deficiency?
The insufficient content of vitamin A in the diet and the lack of its administration separately in tablets leads to serious deviations:
- atrophy of sweating glands;
- progression of myopia and eye diseases;
- disorders in the thyroid gland;
- dry mucous membranes;
- slow bone growth;
- development of hyperkeratosis (excessive rate of cell division of the stratum corneum);
- peeling of the integumentary epithelium;
- possible baldness - severe hair loss (alopecia of various origins).
Recent studies have shown that retinol deficiency is associated with impaired blood sugar. In the long run, this leads to the development of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, renal failure, and carbohydrate metabolism disorders.
What is the danger of lack of B vitamins?
First of all, a deficiency hits the nervous system. Irritability, tearfulness, chronic depression, poor mood, emotional swing - all these symptoms are characteristic for a deficiency of B vitamins. Thiamine, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine, nicotinic and folic acid, riboflavin must be additionally taken in tablets with a course. The duration and frequency of courses should be adjusted with a doctor.
You can drink them individually, or use the preparations Milgamma, Neuromultivit, Combilipen, Pentovit, which contain the entire necessary complex of group B.
Vitamin E Rich Foods
List of foods high in vitamin E (its Latin name is tokoferol):
- Sunflower seeds - the well-known and beloved seeds by all of us, are extremely rich in this vitamin. For 100 g of seeds without husks, 31 mg of vitamin E is necessary, which is 250% of the daily norm recommended by doctors.
- Hazelnuts and almonds are also extremely rich in tocopherol. 100 g of these delicious nuts account for 20 mg of vitamin E in hazelnuts and 21 mg in almonds.
- Mackerel is a very healthy fish. 100 g of meat contains 9.3 mg of tocopherol. Doctors recommend once a week to arrange a fish day so that mackerel dishes are necessarily present in the diet.
- Dried apricots can become a substitute for sweets. Its flesh contains 5 mg of vitamin E. Of course, this dried fruit lags behind the nutritional value of nuts and seeds, but it is quite good primarily because of its taste.
- Sesame, squid meat, egg yolk are similar in the amount of vitamin E in their composition. 100 g contains 2 mg of tocopherol - this is enough for the daily intake, so you should include these products in your daily diet.
Instructions for use with preparations containing vitamin E
Tocopherol is a vital fat-soluble vitamin that cannot break down under the influence of a liquid, unlike its water-soluble fellow group B.
Does not decompose upon exposure to caustic acids. It retains its properties when heated to two hundred degrees Celsius. Ultraviolet and oxygen are capable of exerting a destructive effect on tocopherol (the Latin name of the drug is vitamin E). This is the reason for the packaging of tocopherol-containing drugs in red or yellow capsules. Liquid vitamin is stored in dark glass bottles. Otherwise, oxygen and ultraviolet will begin to have a destructive effect on the tocopherol molecules.
Vitamins of group E in tablets (the names of the preparations are “Enat 400”, “VitAE”, “Euzovit”, “Doppelherz Vitamin E Forte” and others) are recommended for complex therapy of the following conditions:
- eczema, acne, skin diseases, lichens of various etiologies, psoriasis, ulcers, herpes in the period of exacerbation;
- Vitamin E in some cases increases the effectiveness of anticonvulsants;
- paralysis of various genesis;
- problems with the menstrual cycle in women;
- infertility and inability to bear the fetus;
- myopathies of various genesis;
- painful menstruation in women;
- degenerative joint diseases;
- chronic fatigue and overwork.
Tocopherol deficiency and its consequences
Instructions for use warns about the serious consequences of both a lack of vitamin E (the name in the instructions is tocopherol) and its overdose.
Tocopherol deficiency:
- leads to a decrease in the concentration of magnesium in the cells of the body;
- is an obstacle to the absorption of vitamin D, and as a result - problems with the metabolism of phosphorus salts;
- leads to inhibition of the state of lipids in the composition of plasma membranes.
Vitamin E Deficiency Disorders
The degradation of the hormonal system in women due to tocopherol deficiency leads to problems with conception, infertility and the following problems:
- Muscular dystrophy, thinness and anorexic appearance are the earliest signs of vitamin E deficiency. Muscle tissue breaks up, and calcium compounds begin to form actively in its place.
- Infertility occurs due to a prolonged deficiency of vitamin E. The balance of sex hormones is upset, and a long and serious treatment is required. Tocopherol has long been successfully used in veterinary medicine to increase the number of offspring.
- The liver responds to vitamin deficiency with a chronic decrease in glycogen, an expansion of sinusoidal capillaries. Subsequently, fatty liver can develop. In some cases, it can come to necrotic processes in the organ.
- Due to deformation and partial destruction of red blood cells with tocopherol deficiency anemia develops, anemia.
An additional intake of vitamin E in capsules (the name "Enat 400", "VitAE", "Euzovit", "Doppelherz Vitamin E Forte") is an easy way to prevent such conditions.
Vitamin E for Women's Health
Tocopherol (the pharmaceutical name for vitamin E) has a truly miraculous effect on the female body. Doctors call it "beauty product number 1".
It is effective for menstruation delays, infertility and problems with conception. But vitamin E is useful not only in gynecology. It is important for the normal course of the following processes:
- Ensuring the normal production of red bodies in blood cells.
- Increasing skin elasticity, improving the condition of nails and hair.
- Protecting cells from the effects of free radicals, and as a result - rapid aging.
- Prevention of the formation of fatty deposits in the circulatory system.
- Normalization of the reproductive system. It is proved that regular intake of tocopherol increases the likelihood of conception.
- Acceleration of metabolism and help in the process of losing weight.
- The conclusion of free radicals that destroy whole cells and harm the body.
- Normalization of female cycles. Vitamin E during menstruation normalizes the work of internal organs and eliminates pain.
- Relief of breathing in asthma and pulmonary pathologies.
- Support for cardiovascular work and prevention of cardiomyopathies of various etiologies.
Vitamin E and the human nervous system
Neurologists often prescribe vitamin-mineral complexes with a high content of tocopherol for the following mental problems:
- obsessive-compulsive mental disorders;
- chronic depression;
- increased unmotivated irritability, outbreaks of aggression;
- premenstrual syndrome in women;
- mental disorders in menopause.
Together with B vitamins, tocopherol can do real miracles with the nervous system: a person becomes calmer, happier, and the manifestations of depression go away and are smoothed out.
Overdose of tocopherol
Excess vitamin E in the body will not bring benefits. Regular intake of large doses into the body leads to irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, and can cause gastritis.
There is a theory about the relationship of an overdose of tocopherol on an ongoing basis and the formation of stones in the gallbladder. Today, studies are underway that could confirm the reliability of this phenomenon.
Pharmacy preparations and dietary supplements with tocopherol
Vitamins of group E in tablets, names of vitamin-mineral complexes:
- "Alphabet Classic", "Alphabet Mom's Health", "Alphabet Teen".
- Vitrum Beauty, Vitrus Classic.
- Supradin, Supradin Kids.
- "Doppelherz Classic", "Doppelherz Vitamin E Forte".
- "Zentiva", "Aevit", "Aekol".
Medical advice for taking
The combination of tocopherol preparations with the use of alcoholic beverages makes no sense: ethanol does not allow even a small fraction of vitamin E to be absorbed. If the patient wants to feel the whole spectrum of healing effects, then it will be necessary to completely eliminate alcoholic beverages for some time.
Vitamin D is an antagonist of tocopherol and may reduce its absorption. Doctors recommend taking these substances separately from each other. Ammonium chloride, atropine, barbiturates and antihistamines, emotional disorders are also antagonists of vitamin E.
Trade names in a vitamin E pharmacy may vary by manufacturer. For example, an oil solution of this substance in one company is marketed under the name "Tocopherol", and in another - "Tocopherol Forte". Do not be alarmed about this, because the main active ingredient in both cases will be the same component, the difference in price and dosage.