Western consumers are deficient in vitamin E, which has a proven biological function and is a powerful antioxidant, according to professor Manfred Eggersdorfer, senior vice president of nutrition, science and advocacy at the biggest supplier of vitamin E, DSM.
Worry
Eggersdorfer, who spoke at the satellite symposium on vitamin E at the third World Congress of Public Health Nutrition in November, also said that more than 90% of the US’s population did not meet their recommended daily allowance of vitamin E, which was a worry.
Consumers were expected to take in enough vitamin E through their diets, but “they are characterised by an increasing intake of processed foods”, said Lisa Wood, associate professor at the Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases at Australia’s University of Newcastle.
“This results in a nutrient profile that is low in beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants.”
Clinical studies had suggested that vitamin E supplementation could lower fatty liver diseases, DSM claimed.
Disease
“The results of several clinical studies suggest that the use of vitamin E is associated with a number of benefits in patients with non-alcoholic liver disease,” it added. The benefits included a reduction in aminotransferases and a reduction in fatty denegration and inflammation.
Other studies also linked the importance of vitamin E to “proper neuronal functions”, said DSM. It may protect essential fatty acids in the brain from lipid peroxidation, which protected cognitive function.
Meanwhile, see the January 2015 issue of Food Ingredients, Health & Nutrition by subscribing to Food Manufacture to read more about the effects of vitamin E on brain health.