The human body needs a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients to stay healthy, but if the levels of certain key vitamins are altered, causing decompensation, various symptoms can arise, including blurred vision and numbness.
A vital nutrient for our body is vitamin E; this helps protect our cells from damage, it helps strengthen the immune system and prevents the formation of blood clots. Its most important action is to help the natural immune defenses to fight infections and diseases, as well as to maintain an optimal ability to move and protect the eyes and sight.
Women should take 4mg of vitamin E dailywhile for the men the daily requirement is 3mg. According to the NHS (The National Health System, British equivalent of our ISS), the body should be able to absorb the required vitamin E requirement directly from food; the human body has the ability to store vitamins that are not immediately needed, so there is no need to consume certain foods every day.
Most people absorb the necessary nutrients and do not suffer from vitamin E deficiency; usually this is a condition that occurs in patients with problems with digestion or absorption of nutrients from food. Sufferers from this deficiency might have a mild bowel malfunction, cystic fibrosis, short bowel syndrome or alcoholism.
Here are the symptoms to watch out for
If you suffer from vitamin E deficiency, some particular and very indicative symptoms occur. Here is a small list of symptoms that could indicate a possible deficiency:
1. Weakness
Vitamin E is important for the maintenance of muscle mass and to prevent the latter from going into oxidative stress (cramps and muscle pains). According to Dr. Kristen Elizabeth Holtz’s explanation given to ‘Insider’, oxidative stress occurs due to a lack of antioxidants in the body, resulting in muscle weakness.
2. Numbness
According to Holtz, the lack of vitamin E can sometimes cause peripheral neuropathy, or the feeling of numbness in the hands and feet: “It happens when nerve fibers are damaged, this prevents the correct transmission of signals.”
3. Problems with coordination
Similarly to numbness, deficiency can cause the death of some neurons in the brain, which are crucial for controlling movement; this can cause coordination problems.
4. Impaired vision
According to Dr. Holtz, the light receptors present in the ocular retina can also be affected; over time, the damage can cause blurring of vision.
5. Weak immune system
When the immune system is not functioning properly, the body has greater difficulty in fighting off infections and diseases. Vitamin E is a key element that helps the immune system by encouraging the growth of T-lymphocytes, which help fight infections.
If you think you are suffering from vitamin E deficiency there are several foods that you can add to your diet: oils derived from plants such as olive, sunflower, soybean and corn oils are excellent sources of vitamin E; also nuts and oil seeds they are an excellent daily vitamin E booster together with wheat germ, often contained in breakfast cereals or products derived from them.