Vitamin E benefits for perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause
Vitamin E is known as an antioxidant. Oxidation is basically rusting – that’s another way of putting it! There can be many oxidative (or rusting) processes that go on in the body, especially when there are lots of physical changes going on, and also when we age.
Vitamin E is really helpful in preventing that kind of rusting process. And there are many different areas of our health where this oxidation can take place.
1. Vitamin E is good for supporting the skin
It keeps the skin healthy, helping to keep it hydrated. And we know that during perimenopause and menopause, our skin can get thinner and drier. So, vitamin E helps to protect our skin cells.
2.Vitamin E can help vaginal dryness
It can help to reverse vaginal dryness - it's a really nice one for that. You can either get a natural vitamin E oil or vitamin E suppositories.
3.Vitamin E is really important for our heart health.
It helps to keep our blood vessels strong and supple and open, and that in turn is going to support the heart muscle itself.
And we know, especially post-menopause, we are much more prone to heart disease and circulatory problems. So, vitamin E can be a really useful one here, especially if you start early so that it can help as a preventative as well.
4.Vitamin E can help with brain function.
And don't we need help, especially through the perimenopause and menopause: brain fog, foggy brain, that whole kind of scenario where our memory is not particularly good.
We know that oxidative stress can happen in brain, and vitamin E is a lovely support and prevention option here as well.
5.Vitamin E can support bone health
There seems to be some research showing that plenty of vitamin E slows down bone loss. And again, perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause - we are more prone to brittle bones and osteoporosis.
6.Vitamin E is really important for our eye health
It's useful for eyesight. And we know that falling oestrogen levels can actually affect our sight in general.
7.Vitamin E can help with immune function
In the perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, our immune function can be weakened by all the hormonal changes that are going on, and anything that's going to support the immune system generally to help prevent and fight infections is going to be really, really helpful.
Natural sources of vitamin E
You can get vitamin E naturally from a variety of foods:
- Nuts and seeds.
- Oils such as olive oil. (Don't go for the cheap oils because they probably contain no vitamin E at all.)
- Good quality, organic, cold-pressed oils could be really quite high in vitamin E.
- Vegetables and fruits, especially things like kiwi fruits and mango are really high in vitamin E.
- Fish and other seafoods.
So, having a good mix of all these foods on a daily basis is going to give you plenty of vitamin E. And we don't need a lot. Vitamin E is measured in IUs rather than MG, so we only need tiny amounts of vitamin E in order to give us all these fantastic benefits.
Vitamin E supplement – two important things to be aware of
If you feel that you do need to take a vitamin E supplement, there are two really important things. One is you don't need a lot - you're looking at a supplement that's roughly 200iu per day, and you need to make sure that it's natural-sourced vitamin E.
Natural vitamin E is called D-alpha tocopherol. If it has DL in front of it, that means it's chemically made and probably will not give you any of the benefits that we're actually looking for here.
So just make sure it's a natural vitamin E, and a small amount on a daily basis.
I hope you found this one helpful. It's one of these vitamins that we tend not to focus on a lot, but as you can see, it covers a whole range of things in our bodies that we need good support with.
If any of you have tried vitamin E and you found it helpful, please let us know. You know I love to read all your stories and tips and support.
Until next time, take care and have a lovely week.
