Vitamin E and minerals for eye health

Besides vitamin A and C, vitamin E is also one type of the antioxidants that are recommended by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. The study revealed that a nutritional formula containing vitamin E brought down the rate of developing advanced macular degeneration by 25%. The effect of vitamin E in dealing with cataracts is still obscure.

The proper dosage of vitamin E intake for different groups

Many eye doctors persuade their patients into taking a daily multivitamin that contains up to 400 International Units of vitamin E. But you should consult a physician before taking high dosage of vitamin E, since excessive vitamin E intake may bring adverse problems such as increased bleeding. You can also take the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance as a reference. The RDA for people above 14 is 15 mg, equivalent to 22.5 IU. The younger a kid, the smaller amount of vitamin intake is required. For instance, infants that are 0 to 6 months old only need 4 mg vitamin each day. For breastfeeding women, the RDA is 19 mg. Smoking and drinking require more vitamin E intake.

Where to get vitamin E at proper dosage?

Great sources of vitamin E are usually associated with nuts. And it is easy to get this nutrient from many regular foods, such as fortified cereals, nuts and nut oils, green leafy vegetables like spinach, turnip and beet, tomato products, pumpkin, sweet potato and blue crab etc. In addition, sunflower seeds, dried almonds and hazelnuts, peanuts and mango are some of the recommended sources. Another popular way to get nutritional vitamin E is to consume supplement products.

Selenium and zinc are beneficial minerals

There are still some minerals that are beneficial to human body. Brazil nuts, yeast and seafood can offer plenty of selenium, which assists the body in absorbing vitamin E. For a better absorption of vitamin A, zinc from oysters, hamburgers, wheat and nuts are competent. Zinc is also reported to reduce free radicals and prevent macular degeneration. However, high doses of zinc consumption may cause certain adverse effects in the body.