Appraisal of human vitamin E requirement based on examination of individual meals and a composite Canadian diet

Abstract

The vitamin E intake of Canadians was investigated to provide information on human requirements. A composite diet, representing the daily per capita consumption of foods in Canada, was prepared and analyzed for α-tocopherol and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The diet furnished 6.4 mg α-tocopherol per day and the ratio of α-tocopherol to PUFA was 0.52 mg/g. According to tabulated values, the diet provided (per day) 7.5 mg α-tocopherol, 130 g fat, 88 g protein, and 2,781 kcal. It was concluded that many Canadians do not consume the recommended intake of 10 to 30 IU. Furthermore, analysis revealed that convenience dinners (24 samples) contained 0.29 to 3.49 mg α-tocopherol with ratios of α-tocopherol to PUFA of 0.10-3.03 mg/g. The use of the ratio in the assessment of diets was considered to be impractical and many exceptions to the allegedly critical value of 0.6 were apparent. As there is no evidence of deficiency in Canada, it is concluded that the adult's requirement for vitamin E is less than 15 IU/day. It is suggested that the vitamin E/PUFA ratio should not be used as a test of the adequacy of foods and diets.