Vitamin E

CANOLA and Vitamin E

Health practitioners and dietitians have praised the fatty acid profile of canola, labeling it with the best fatty acid ratio. Research indicates the fatty acid composition of canola oil is most favourable in terms of health benefits and as part of a nutritionally balanced diet.

Vitamin E
Protects Against
Oxidative Damage

Antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin E, as well as vitamin C and beta-carotene, play a significant role in the body's defense against oxidative damage.

Antioxidants "quench" free radicals, making them inactive, and
they may act alone or in combination to prevent free radicals
from reacting with other molecules. For this reason, Vitamin E is
important in tissues such as the brain and the lungs which contain polyunsaturated fatty acids.

A Natural Antioxidant

Vitamin E acts as a antioxidant. In vegetable oils, it helps reduce
the speed at which the oils become rancid. In the human body,
it helps protect against oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
The richest dietary sources of Vitamin E are vegetable oils such
as canola oil.

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient that must
be supplied in the diet.

Food Sources

Vitamin E is widespread in our food supply and is found
mainly in canola oil.

Vitamin E and Coronary Heart Disease

Researchers believe Vitamin E plays an important role in protecting against coronary heart disease. Vitamin E is a powerful Antioxidant present in lipoproteins. (Lipoproteins carry fats and cholesterol in the bloodstream.) Vitamin E helps prevent the oxidation of lipoproteins, particularly in smokers, and reduces the stickiness of platelets in the bloodstream.

Vitamin E prevents the stiffening of arteries, thus keeping arteries flexible and elastic and allowing blood to flow freely. Vitamin E also blocks the development of fatty streaks in arterial walls.
Fatty streaks are an early sign of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of heart disease. In short, Vitamin E helps preserve the
health of arterial walls and reduce heart disease risk.

Epidemiologic studies show an inverse relation between Vitamin E intake and risk of heart disease - that is, populations with high
intakes of Vitamin E have lower death rates from heart disease.
The optimal Vitamin E intake needed to prevent heart disease
is not known, and research is ongoing to determine the appropriate nutrition recommendation for this vitamin to reduce heart disease risk.

Vitamin E and Cancer

Free radical damage to DNA may cause mutations in cells that lead to cancer. Vitamin E appears to protect DNA against oxidative damage, block tumor development in animals and inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells in test tubes. In humans, the results are mixed.