Fat Soluble Vitamins

Question 1

Vitamin E

Answer 1

• AKA Alpha-Tocopherol
  
  • A fat soluble vitamin (its non-polar)
  • You absorb it better when you eat it with fat
  • Your body stores vitamin E in fat cells
  • We can have too much of it since it gets stored in the body
  • Its absorbed in the intestines with fat in micelles
  • Is harder to be deficient in
  • Transport in the blood via lipoproteins
  • Vitamin E is an antioxidant
  • Fat soluble vitamins do everything that fat does in the body

Question 2

Function of Vitamin E

Answer 2

• Works in lipid environments:

- Cell membrane phospholipids

Question 3

What is Oxidation?

Answer 3

• The stealing of electrons by free radicals
  
  • Is a cascade effect, one atom steals electrons from another which steals from another again
    Antioxidants stop this chain reaction

Question 4

Vitamin E Donates Electrons

Answer 4

• Barrier between cells is broken so the cell dies
  
  • Free radical wont be able to destroy the cell membrane anymore
  • Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is recharged by vitamin C

Question 5

Fat Facts

Answer 5

• The more double bonds the easier the oxidation reaction (PUFAs are trouble!)
  
  • Fat goes bad because of oxidation reactions happened a lot of the time
  • Fish smells bad because lots of double bonds in the unsaturated fat
  • Unsaturated oils are sometimes very delicate, best not to heat those

Question 6

The more PUFA you Eat…

Answer 6

• The more Vitamin E you need to protect those fats from oxidation
  
  • Luckily the foods that contain PUFA also contain vitamin E

Question 7

Where is Vitamin E?

Answer 7

Food sources of PUFA have lots of vitamin E

Question 8

Vitamin E is Destroyed by…

Answer 8

• Oxygen
  
  • Light
  • High heat cooking
  • Deep frying in oil kills almost all the vitamin E

Question 9

Vitamin E toxicity

Answer 9

• Uncommon and only happens with supplements, not with food

- Doses would have to be huge (over 50 times the RDA)

Question 10

Vitamin E Defiency

Answer 10

• Hemolytic anemia (breaking blood cells)

- Very rare since the body stores vitamin E

Question 11

Low Vitamin E Intake

Answer 11

• 20-40% of Americans have low vitamin E intakes

- Greater risk of heart disease

Question 12

Vitamin E and Cardiovascular Disease

Answer 12

• Reduces oxidized LDL
  
  • LDL -> oxidized LDL
  • Vitamin E also:
  • Reduces inflammation of the blood vessels which can lead to plaque flaking off - bad thing
  • Reduces blood clotting