Although it doesn’t get as much attention as cold-preventing vitamin C or bone building calcium, under-appreciated vitamin E performs an array of important functions within your body.
From keeping your skin and hair looking great to aiding in the prevention of coronary artery disorders, vitamin E is a harder worker that gets little attention. If you’ve found that your diet is lacking in vitamin E, you needn’t add a pill to your morning routine. Instead, increase your intake of foods that are naturally rich in vitamin E to ensure that you get enough of this dietary element through dietary modification alone. As an added bonus, many of the foods that are rich in vitamin E are also packed with other vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making them overall healthy additions to your daily diet.
1. Avocado
Holy guacamole! This food is both tasty and vitamin E rich. One avocado contains just over four mgs of vitamin E, according to the USDA. This is about 1/3 of the vitamin E you should ideally consume each day. You don’t have to munch an avocado whole to reap these benefits. Sneak this silky fruit into your diet by adding a few slices to your Tex-Mex omelet, or stick some on your burger to get yourself on your way to meeting your goal.
2. Almonds
Crunchy and delicious, almonds make an excellent vitamin E rich snack. These nuts are rich in alpha-tocopherol – a form of vitamin E that has been proven to help prevent cancer and heart disease. Keep some bags of almonds in your purse to cure your mid-day munchies, or turn to them when you feel the need for a midnight snack to cure your craving for salt without having a negative impact on your diet.
3. Spinach
Trade your tired iceberg lettuce for some dark and rich spinach. This green, like its cousins swiss chard, collards and kale, is rich in vitamin E. While you can enjoy this green cooked or raw, if you’ve chosen to add spinach to your diet specifically to reap the benefits of its vitamin E richness, eating it raw is best, as cooking spinach reduces the potency of the vitamin E it contains substantially. To sneak spinach into your family’s diet, consider adding it as a burger topping, as no one will notice it peeking out from between the buns.
4. Peanut Butter
This lunchbox favorite is as healthful as it is creamy and delicious. One serving of peanut butter contains just fewer than three mgs of vitamin E, so consider opting for peanut butter instead of jelly on your morning piece of toast or adding some peanut butter to your snack of apple slices.
5. Pine Nuts
Add some crunch to your salad, jazz up your pasta or enjoy pine nuts as part of a tasty trail mix, as these vitamin E rich nuts are pint-sized powerhouses. Each serving of pine nuts contains approximately 2.5 mg of vitamin E, so adding them to several meals throughout the day will help you reach your daily consumption goal without requiring dramatic dietary modification.
6. Papaya
Slip this tropical treat into your bag for a mid-afternoon snack, or serve it as a fruit component to your family dinner. Although most noted for its vitamin C richness, this fruit also offers a burst of vitamin E. Just one papaya fulfills 15 percent of your daily vitamin E needs, so picking this fruit over some of the less exotic options can pay off.
7. Broccoli
Shunned by many, broccoli is a vitamin E superhero. Whether eaten raw or steamed, this veggie offers a substantial dose of vitamin E. Adding one cup of steamed broccoli to the
edge of your dinner plate gives you four percent of the vitamin E you need for the day, making it a worthy addition to your family dinner table. If you’re lucky enough to parent some children who don’t abhor this veggie, slip some stalks into your little one’s lunchbox to give them the vitamin E burst they need to make their school day a success.
8. Olives
Drop a couple into your evening martini, add them to your salad or enjoy some toast with tasty olive tapenade, as these salty fruits are a great source of vitamin E. If you’re a particular fan of olives, consider enjoying them as a snack, as a quarter-cup of olives provides five percent of the vitamin E you need for your body to run at its peak.
