You can find the antioxidant known as vitamin E in a wide variety of food items, the U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements reports, including spinach and many types of nuts. When consumed, the vitamin offers several potential health benefits. Although it's best to get your vitamin E through food, the National Institutes of Health advise, you can also take it as a supplement in the form of a pill or tablet. Consult your doctor before adding vitamin E supplementation to your daily routine; existing medical conditions and other factors may determine whether taking vitamin E is the right choice.
Convenience
Vitamin E tablets are small and easy to carry with you while you're traveling or working. They also allow you to get the necessary amount of vitamin E needed for proper health. The NIH recommends that the average adult get 15 milligrams daily.
Increased Absorption
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, so you may not get all of the vitamin E present in the foods you eat if you have a fat-malabsorption disorder like cystic fibrosis, warns the Office of Dietary Supplements. For such individuals, the agency recommends synthetic, water-soluble vitamin E pills or tablets, which will help provide a form of vitamin E the body can actually absorb.
Protection of Other Nutrients
Your body's digestive system works to allow some vitamins and nutrients help increase the retention and use of other vitamins and nutrients. Ohio State University advises that you get enough vitamin E to help ensure your body's proper use of essential fatty acids and vitamin A. Without vitamin E, the university warns that these nutrients oxidize and break down before your body can make optimal use of them.
Vision Health
Taking 400 international units of vitamin E every day is beneficial for good vision, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The vitamin works alongside other antioxidants, like vitamin C, to help protect against and reduce macular degeneration, which, the center reports, is the biggest cause of legal blindness among American seniors.
Decreased Cancer Risk
The Office of Dietary Supplements highlights vitamin E's ability to reduce the effects of free radicals on your cells, which in turn helps lower your risk of cancer. Prostate and breast cancer, specifically, are susceptible to the effects of vitamin E, the office adds.
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