Everyone seems to be searching for that fountain of youth these days. We like to search for the easiest ways to reverse the hands of time. We try to eat better, get more sleep, take a yoga class, and yet we wonder if we can still do more. If you search the aisles of your local pharmacy you will come upon bottles of Vitamin E. Our body does not produce Vitamin E, but it can easily be found in our diets.

Open your refrigerator and you will find good sources of Vitamin E such as green vegetables, almonds, wheat, grains, fish, and peanut butter. This is a vitamin that is fat-soluble and is needed for proper cell growth and cell function. It assists in the metabolic process and to break down other organic molecules. Vitamin E has been glorified in the past, as the one capsule that can erase all the years of damage that your body has incurred overtime. The damage is the result of by-products that are bodies expend when we are exposed to free radicals in our environment. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage other molecules such as our DNA, collagen, and enzymes. It is also thought that Vitamin E prevents the growth of cancer cells and can prevent heart diseases.

Is it really necessary to add Vitamin E in your diet? The question is controversial and more studies need to be done on whether a younger, healthy person really requires this vitamin. The recommended daily amount for the average adult is 15 mg a day. In supplements, 1000 mg is the maximum amount that should be taken. It is difficult to be deficient because the human body only requires a small amount because it stores Vitamin E and is able to reuse it over and over again.

Those that are truly deficient have symptoms such as muscle weakness, wasting or loss of muscles, and anemia to name a few. Health ailments that would cause a Vitamin E deficiency are pancreatic, biliary diseases that affect the liver or gallbladder and cystic fibrosis. The body is not able to absorb fat correctly. What if you do not fit in any of these categories? There is speculation that getting an excess amount of Vitamin can be toxic even fatal in those that are not deficient.

Many people take Vitamin E because they think it will help them live a longer life or reduce their chance of having a fatal heart attack or stroke. Yet studies keep showing that your chances actually increase after one dose of 400 I.U. ‘s are equal to 1.5 mg. So, taking Vitamin E is actually doing more harm than good