Vitamin E is an antioxidant, helping your body prevent or repair damage caused by free radicals---damaging cell molecules leftover from normal cell activities or produced by environmental toxins. Free radicals play a role in the development of diseases that include cancer and Alzheimer's. Vitamin E also helps your body form muscles, red blood cells and tissue. Since your body does not make vitamin E, you must include certain foods in your diet to ensure that you reach the Food and Drug Administration's recommended daily value of 20 mg per day for children over age 4 and adults.
Oils
The National Institutes of Health's database of foods that contain vitamin E shows that only wheat germ oil provides 100 percent of the RDV. You get a total of 20.3 mg of vitamin E from a 1 tbsp. serving. The same size serving of sunflower oil provides 5.6 mg or 28 percent, while safflower oil's content equals 25 percent at 4.6 mg. Corn oil, at 1.9 mg, provides 10 percent of the RDV. NIH notes that margarine and spreads made with these oils contain vitamin E as well.
Nuts
Almonds, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts, usually consumed as snacks, have significant amounts of vitamin E in each serving. A 1 oz. serving of dry-roasted almonds contains 40 percent of the RDV of vitamin E, at 7.4 mg. Although not a true nut, dry-roasted sunflower seed contains 6.0 mg or 30 percent. Hazelnuts rank third among nut choices at 22 percent of the RDV, with 4.3 mg in a 1 oz. serving. A 2 tbsp. serving of peanut butter provides 15 percent of the RDV at 2.9 mg, while the 1 oz. serving of dry roasted peanuts offers 11 percent at 2.2 mg.
Fruits and Vegetables
Frozen spinach, at 6.73 mg per 1-cup serving, is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's highest-ranking vegetable selection, providing 33 percent of the RDV. A serving of frozen turnip greens provides 22 percent. Raw spinach provides 4 percent per 1 cup serving, as does a medium raw tomato. Although potato chips are processed vegetables, a 1 oz. serving contains 16 percent of your RDV for vitamin E, at 3.23 mg.
One whole mango or a papaya contains 11 percent at 2.32 mg and 2.22 mg, while one medium-sized kiwi fruit provides 1.1 mg of vitamin E or 6 percent of the RDV. A one-cup serving of raspberries has 1.8 mg, putting them at 9 percent, with blackberries following closely at 1.68 mg.
Fortified Cereals
Various fortified cereals contain vitamin E; the highest amount for a serving without milk is 13.5 mg. General Mills and Kellogg's make the top four cereal products that contain a significant percent of the RDV of vitamin E. Some other cereals state that they contain 100 percent of the recommend daily value of essential vitamins, but since the FDA does not require that food products include vitamin E daily values unless it has been added, these cereals exclude vitamin E from their RDV list. According to the USDA's chart of foods that contain vitamin E, the highest-ranking fortified cereals in 2010 are Raisin Bran and Product 19, both providing 67.5 percent RDV, or 13.50 mg per 1 cup serving.
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