Vitamin E is in many beauty products because of its positive effects on the health of your skin, especially to combat blemishes, age spots, rashes and dryness. Putting vitamin E on torn or ripped skin may not be a good idea if the wound is bleeding because vitamin E is a blood thinner. On the other hand, if the cut is not bleeding very much, vitamin E is a strong antioxidant that stimulates your immune system and may cause the injury to heal faster. Some types of vitamin E are more biologically active than others.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant and an effective modulator of your immune system. Vitamin E enhances your immune system by producing interleukin-2, a powerful protein that can destroy bacteria and viruses, as cited in the book "Biochemistry of Human Nutrition." Any tear to your flesh allows pathogenic microorganisms to enter your body, so applying vitamin E oil directly to the injury acts as a mild antiseptic and deters infection. Vitamin E supplements are usually in liquid capsules, which can be easily pierced with a pin and used to apply to your skin.
Types
Vitamin E represents a collection of eight compounds that are divided into four tocopherol types and four tocotrienol types. Tocopherols are the best studied and are further divided into alpha, beta, gamma and delta sub-types. All forms of vitamin E are antioxidants and enhance your immune system, but alpha-tocopherol is considered the most bio-available to your body, according to the book "Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health." Alpha-tocopherol is a powerful antioxidant and able to scavenge damaging free radicals linked to tissue damage, which is why it is a common ingredient in beauty products. Tocotrienols are much less studied, although some research indicates they could be the most potent antioxidants of the vitamin E group.
Blood Thinner
Vitamin E displays blood thinning properties because it is an antagonist to vitamin K. Vitamin K is essential to the coagulation cascade, which is a series of biochemical reactions involved with the formation of blood clots, notes the book "Biochemical, Physiological and Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition." Blood clotting is crucial for healing injuries that damage blood vessels. Applying vitamin E to a profusely bleeding skin injury will inhibit the actions of vitamin K and lead to additional blood loss and increased healing times. Eating vitamin E rich foods before becoming injured may have similar effects.
Vitamin E Rich Foods
Some foods rich in vitamin E, such as spinach and broccoli, are also rich in vitamin K, which tend to cancel each other out in terms of affecting blood clotting. Other good sources of vitamin E include most nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, all vegetable oils, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, rice, oats, mangoes and tomatoes, according to the "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide." Supplementing with vitamin E is not recommended if you are on blood-thinning medication, have a history of hemorrhagic strokes or have recently experienced a significant skin injury.
References
- "Biochemistry of Human Nutrition"; George Gropper; 2000
- "Vitamins: Fundamental Aspects in Nutrition and Health"; G. Combs; 2008
- "Biochemical, Physiological and Molecular Aspects of Human Nutrition"; Martha Stipanuk; 2006
- "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide"; American Dietetic Association; 2006
Member Comments