Best Sources of Vitamin E

[Guest Angela]

Hi All -

 

I've been tracking my nutrition in Cronometer for about 7 weeks now.  This has allowed be to start to see trends in what nutrients seem to perpetually be low in my diet.  One that comes up over and over is Vitamin E. 

 

What do you all use as a good source of Vit E?  I keep seeing wheat germ as a possibility but I dropped wheat out of my diet a few weeks ago and I find I feel better anad also, for a given meal, I seem to stay full longer without it.  So I would love to learn some other good sources of Vit E.

 

Thanks!

[Michael R]

First: Angela do me and you and everyone on the Forum a favor: register on the Forums and log in when you post! It's fine if you want to use a pseudonym, but registering and logging in will ensure that you can't be impersonated and will make it easier to keep track of your questions, input, and progress.

On your question: If you go under the "Foods" tab up at the top, you can "Ask the Oracle" for foods high in particular nutrients. You can also use the Nutrition Data Nutrient Search tool.

The classic vitamin E booster is almonds.

Few people eating reasonable amounts of healthy fat are low in vitamin E. Do you eat a very low-fat diet? If so, stop that ;) .

[Guest Angela]

First: Angela do me and you and everyone on the Forum a favor: register on the Forums and log in when you post! It's fine if you want to use a pseudonym, but registering and logging in will ensure that you can't be impersonated and will make it easier to keep track of your questions, input, and progress.

 

On your question: If you go under the "Foods" tab up at the top, you can "Ask the Oracle" for foods high in particular nutrients. You can also use the Nutrition Data Nutrient Search tool.

 

The classic vitamin E booster is almonds.

 

Few people eating reasonable amounts of healthy fat are low in vitamin E. Do you eat a very low-fat diet? If so, stop that ;) .

Thanks. Yes, almonds are usually at the top of the list.  I was wondering if I would discover any unexpected Vit E sources.  (For reference, this happened with thiamine, another thing I am always a little low on.  I had no idea that nutritional yeast, as well as Vegemite and Marmite, were such powerhouse B vit foods.  I am glad I discovered them.)

 

I do not eat a particularly low-fat diet because when you are over 40 that is a recipe for making your skin look like crap  :)  But almonds are not remotely filling to me.  I already get some in KIND Bars as I usually split one of those with my husband for dessert most nights.  So it is not that I don't like almonds - just that, for all the calories they have, I do not find them particularly satisfying.

 

I figure I will read some posts over the next few weeks here and see if I think it would be useful to sign up.  I already participate in a few nutrition discussion boards so I don't usually sign up to new ones unless i know I will be visiting frequently.

 

Thanks much  :)

[AnnabelM]

Hey Angela, Michael -

 

E is a big challenge for me, too. I've been very quietly Cronometering on and off for almost 4 years (new to the forum). All I can say is, in my personal experience, more fat doesn't automatically fix it, and many healthy foods are just not very high in Vitamin E (though it may be that the data isn't correctly represented; Cronometer tells me that kale, for example, is devoid of the stuff). 

 

I currently hit the 15mg mark by eating lots of tomato products and olive oil, greens like spinach (frozen) or swiss chard (fresh) every day, frozen bell pepper mix with my egg at breakfast, and an E-friendly snack such as kiwis/apricots or occasionally sunflower seeds/peanuts. Almonds are ok, but pretty expensive and not nearly as pleasurable as the (also pricy) fruits.

 

The closest thing I've found to a "silver bullet" like yeast for B-vitamins is the sunflower seeds. Unfortunately I just don't like them that much and besides, I think that too many of them can mess with n-6/n-3 balance. In the past, I've tried to eat them regularly in oatmeal, on garlicky sauteed greens, or mixed in yogurt.

 

Recently, thinking of E, I bought up all the canned pumpkin at my dollar store. Too bad so many of my usual dishes are tomato based; I don't think the two play nice together. Perhaps poor pumpkin's purpose is pie. Unless you can think of another option?

 

Anyway, Angela, I'd certainly be interested to hear how you end up increasing your E.

[Guest Angela]

The Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special Cookbook has a great recipe called "Tunisian Pumpkin Soup".  They list a serving as about 285 calories.  I would think you could play with ingredients to make it even more nutritious but its not bad as is.  If you didn't want to buy the cookbook I bet you could find it at a library. 

 

I am still thinking about the Vitamin E thing.  If I have to resort to almonds I may do almond butter.  Weirdly, when I eat stuff like that (ie - nut butters) just plain or with celery, it is strangely filling.  Chewing up almonds however just doesn't cut it for me...odd, I know...

[AnnabelM]

Oh, my mother has one of the Moosewood cookbooks, and I love it! I found the recipe online: http://www.recipebridge.com/recipe/221/441481315/tunisian-pumpkin-soup-from-moosewood

 

It looks a lot like a carrot and coriander soup I like to make, except with pumpkin. I think I'll swap dry white wine for the apple juice, drop the turnips (don't care for them), possibly a couple spoons of plain whey protein. Thanks for the tip!!

 

You could also consider adding crushed/slivered almonds to salads and cooked veggies...