What is "a good food source"?

A good food source of vitamin E contains a substantial amount of vitamin E in relation to its calorie content & contributes at least 10% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin E in a selected serving size.

The U.S. RDA for vitamin E is 10 milligrams per day.

Nutritional All-Star: Vitamin E
This vitamin is best known for its ability to protect cells from damage that may eventually lead to cancer, heart disease, cataracts and other serious health problems.

What women need: 15 mg daily for all ages

What women get: Most women get approximately half of their recommended daily allowance. Women ages 20 to 59 years old get an average of 8.3 mg per day; women 60 and older get only 7.7 mg.

Add to your diet: ¼ cup sunflower seeds (18 mg); ¼ cup wheat germ (4½ mg); 1 tablespoon canola oil (3 mg); 1 tablespoon margarine or ½ avocado (2 mg); 2 tablespoons almonds, 1 tablespoon peanut butter or 1 cup raw spinach (1 mg each)

How to Prepare Foods to Retain Vitamin E

Vitamin E can be lost from foods during preparation, cooking, or storage. To retain vitamin E:

• Use whole-grain flours.
• Store foods in airtight containers & avoid exposing them to light.

What about fortified foods?

Most ready-to-eat cereals are fortified with vitamin E. Fortified ready-to-eat cereals usually contain at least 40% of the U.S. RDA for vitamin E.

What is a serving?

The serving sizes used on the list of good sources are only estimates of the amounts of food you might eat. The amount of nutrient in a serving depends on the weight of the serving.

e.g., 1/2 cup canned fruit contains more vitamin E than 1/2 cup of the same fruit served raw, because a serving of the canned fruit weighs more.

Therefore, the canned fruit may appear on the list while the raw form does not. The raw fruit provides the nutrient--but just not enough in a 1/2-cup serving to be considered a good source.

Good Sources of Vitamin E
Food	Serving Size	Percentage of U.S. RDA1
Breads, Cereals, & Other Grain Products
Multi-grain cereal, cooked	2/3 cup	+
Ready-to-eat cereals, fortified2	1 oz	+++
Wheat germ, plain	2 Tablespoons	++
Fruits
Apple, baked, unsweetened	1 medium	+
Apricots, canned, juice-pack	1/2 cup	+
Nectarine, raw	1 medium	+
Peach, canned, juice-pack	1/2 cup	+
Vegetables
Chard, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Dandelion greens, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Kohlrabi, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Mustard greens, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Pumpkin, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Turnip greens, cooked	1/2 cup	+
Meat, Poultry, Fish, & Alternates
Liver, chicken, or turkey, braised	1/2 cup diced	+
Fish & Seafood
Clams, steamed, boiled, or canned, drained	3 ozs	+
Croaker, mackerel, mullet, or ocean perch, baked or broiled	3 ozs	+
Mackerel, canned, drained	3 ozs	+
Salmon:
Baked, broiled, steamed, or poached	3 ozs	+
Canned, drained	3 ozs	+
Scallops, baked or broiled	3 ozs	+
Shrimp:
Broiled, steamed or boiled	3 ozs	++
Canned, drained	3 ozs	+
Nuts & Seeds
Almonds, un-roasted	2 Tablespoons	+++
Brazil nuts	2 Tablespoons	+
Filberts (hazelnuts)	2 Tablespoons	+++
Peanuts, roasted or dry roasted	2 Tablespoons	+
Peanut butter	2 Tablespoons	++
Sunflower seeds, hulled, roasted, or dry roasted	2 Tablespoons	+++
1 A selected serving size contains:
+ 10-24 % of the U.S. RDA for adults & children over 4 years of age
++ 25-39 % of the U.S. RDA for adults &children over 4 years of age
+++ 40 % or more of the U.S. RDA for adults & children over 4 years of age
2 See section on fortified foods.