Vitamin E does a lot of heavy lifting (well, they all do, but there is one specific one that can do all of the following, and more!): 

  • Balancing cholesterol
  • Fighting free radicals
  • Thickening hair
  • Helps against PMS symptoms
  • Improves vision
  • Can help people with Alzheimer’s disease
  • Improves muscle strength and physical endurance
  • Important during pregnancy
  • Helps damaged skin

Now, I’m not saying to go run out and get some for yourself right now. There are some good food sources for vitamin E, such as broccoli, avocado, spinach, kiwi, almonds, etc. 

But are there times when I recommend taking a vitamin E supplement? Absolutely. And this is why I’m bringing up vitamin E today. 

You know how picky I am about what supplement brands I use for my family, for you, and for myself. So would you really be surprised when I tell you that there are supplement brands that use synthetic vitamin E. Do you know what to look for on the bottle, because they certainly won’t tell you that they put in synthetics… 

Natural vitamin E will be called d-alpha tocopherol, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, or d-alpha tocopheryl succinate.

Look for one of these, it will be natural based.

If the vitamin E is labeled with a dl – prefix, that’s synthetic.

Your body doesn’t want to use it and it’s not going to benefit you like natural vitamin E will.

Another important consideration with vitamin E is that some brands will use soy to source their vitamin E. I know I’ve talked often about how bad soy is for you, so lets also make sure it says soy free on that bottle.

Across the board, you shouldn’t be taking anything synthetic and I know you know this.

But I also know that it can get tricky when labeling doesn’t just outright tell you what’s in that supplement. On a side note, I actually quite like Systemic Formulas vitamin E because it’s a chewable, which means your body can start absorbing it in your mouth (not necessary with all vitamins and minerals, but vitamin E does have improved absorption this way). 

 

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