Surely you have heard, actively and passively, the importance of eating a healthy and balanced diet. It refers to the inclusion of all kinds of food in our eating routine in order to provide the body with the largest number of ingredients that help the body function properly. An absence of proteins, amino acids, minerals, or vitamins can lead to serious problems. In this article, we are going to focus especially on Vitamin E for its great nutritional value and at the muscular level.
What does vitamin E provide?
Let’s start talking about the antioxidant power of vitamin E. It is an essential nutrient to fight free radicals, particles responsible for the appearance of certain diseases and premature aging. When we do sports, our body demands a greater demand for oxygen. This fact leads to the generation of a greater quantity of free radicals, whose action oxidizes the lipids of the cell membranes and causes structural damage.
Our body is prepared to deal with a certain amount of free radicals, but an increase in them can cause an imbalance in the body’s antioxidant capacity. This is when we have to make use of Vitamin E, present in legumes, nuts, cereals, etc.
Therefore, vitamin E helps reduce muscle damage while also contributing to muscle recovery. In high-intensity exercises, it helps to protect the muscles, causing an indirect reaction in the improvement of sports performance.
What happens when we suffer from a vitamin E deficiency?
We can suffer muscular dystrophy, anemia, fatigue, heart problems, and even cause a reduction in fertility. It should be remembered that a lack of vitamin E is not always related to low consumption of foods rich in this nutrient since we could be victims of malabsorption of vitamin E. In these cases we should go to our doctor, always keeping in mind that iron, magnesium, and copper reduce the levels of this vitamin.
