Don’t really like seafood, nuts and seeds, and other traditionally rich sources of vitamin E? If you are hunting for a quick, hassle-free alternative, you’re probably wondering whether fruit could do the trick. Delicious and requiring almost no effort to consume, fruits can indeed add to your vitamin E intake alongside other vitamin E sources. So here you go!
Have 15 Mg of Antioxidant Vitamin E Daily To Stay Healthy
Your body requires around 15 mg of vitamin E a day to meet its needs for nerve, muscle, and immune function.1 More importantly, because vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant vitamin, it can also counteract the effect of stress and strain your body experiences on a daily basis through free radical damage. This can help slow signs of aging and help with overall health and may even protect you from chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, though its connection on this front needs further investigation.2
To understand the amount of nutrients foods contain in context, the Food and Drug Authority has laid down “daily values” (DVs). The guideline intake levels for adults is set at 15 mg for vitamin E.3 To be nutrient-rich, a food typically must have 20% DV or higher. Fruit may not hit those highs, but can certainly add to your daily intake of this all-important vitamin. More importantly, if you’re unlikely to eat the nutrient-rich foods on a daily basis, having fruit ensures you don’t miss out entirely. Do try and meet the daily intake levels for good health though – ideally via your diet.
1. Mamey Sapote
[pullquote]A cup of mamey sapote: 3.69 mg of vitamin E (24.6% DV)[/pullquote]
Kicking off the list is a fruit you may or may not have tasted yet. If you haven’t, this could be a revelation. Mamey sapote has 24.6% DV or 3.69 mg of vitamin E to a cup, making it comparable to very nutrient-rich sources like nuts or green leafy vegetables.4
Peel away the skin to reveal an aromatic flesh within. Ensure you eat the fruit when it is ripe – simply see if your finger leaves an impression on the surface when you press down on it. If it is too firm, it is probably not ready to be eaten. When the skin gets wrinkly, it doesn’t mean it has gone bad, just that it is ripe. If you’d like to use them in cooking, get started by juicing the pulp. But to really celebrate the fruit, make a vegan ice cream combining the blended fruit with coconut milk before freezing.
2. Avocado
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- A cup of pureed avocado: 4.76 mg of vitamin E (31.7% DV)
- A cup of cubed avocado: 3.1 mg of vitamin E (20.7% DV)
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Avocados need no introduction. And thanks to the wave of fitness enthusiasts eating avocados at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’ll be spoilt for choice on recipe ideas. While you can enjoy the fruit as it is, do consider livening up meals with some fresh homemade guacamole. Or begin your day with a healthy avocado on toast meal – sprinkle on some seeds and nuts to add to your vitamin E intake. Add avocado to any salad and it will perk it up instantly. You can even serve them in their skins, some of the flesh scooped out like devilled eggs and refilled with perfectly seasoned tuna. That creaminess makes it seem oh-so-indulgent even when it is actually really healthy – what’s not to like?
You get 20.7% DV from the 3.1 mg of vitamin E in a cup of the cubed fruit. Prefer to use the puree in drinks or other recipes? That’s even better! Because a cup of pureed avocado delivers 31.7% DV from 4.76 mg of the antioxidant vitamin.5
3. Kiwifruit
[pullquote]A cup of kiwifruit: 2.63 mg of vitamin E (17.5% DV)[/pullquote]
That import from down under, the kiwifruit is more than mainstream all over the world now. Scoop the flesh out of the halved kiwi and eat it as it is, enjoying the pops from the edible seeds. Or swap out citrus segments in salads with kiwi for an unusual twist to your recipes. Make an open-faced sandwich of wholemeal toast topped with turkey ham, ricotta, and kiwifruit. Or scatter zesty kiwifruit over your oatmeal or pancakes for something to cut through the sweetness. You might even enjoy its subtle sweetness and tartness in a chicken taco or duck confit. Why all the fuss over kiwifruit? With 2.63 mg of vitamin E in a cup of the sliced fruit, that’s 17.5% DV.6
4. Apricot
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- A cup of fresh apricots: 1.47 mg of vitamin E (9.8% DV)
- A quarter cup of dried apricots: 1.41 mg of vitamin E (9.4% DV)
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Fresh apricots contain 1.47 mg or 9.8% DV of vitamin E to a cup of the sliced fruit.7 A quarter cup of dried apricots gives you 1.41 mg or 9.4% DV of the nutrient.8 Dried apricots work beautifully in savory recipes like tagines and aromatic pilafs. They can also feature in rice pudding recipes, stewed apricot recipes with ice cream, and in sweets like cookies and cakes. As for fresh apricots, just bite into one juicy luscious apricot and you’ll realize why you don’t need a nudge to have another!
5. Red Pepper
[pullquote]A cup of red pepper: 2.35 mg of vitamin E (15.7% DV)[/pullquote]
Surprised to see peppers in a list of fruits while you may have seen them used in savory recipes all your life? Well, they are technically fruits just like the tomato. And when you consider that there’s 15.7% DV or 2.35 mg of vitamin E in every cup, you may want to venture cooking with some.9 Chop them up and add them to salads, roast them in the oven to go with main meals, stuff them with wild rice or cheeses or even meaty fillings before baking. Blitz them up in smoothies with other fruit or vegetables and you may not even notice that mildly savory sweet hit from the peppers. Your body certainly will appreciate that hit of vitamin C and E that it brings!
6. Olive
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- A cup of black olives: 2.25 mg of vitamin E (15% DV)
- A cup of canned green olives: 5.14 mg of vitamin E (34.3% DV)
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While on the subject of savory tasting fruit, consider olives. An olive tapenade can be great on your toast, inside a savory French-style crepe, or even with some baked eggs. Or just add them to your pizza as a salty topping. Make that roast chicken special by scattering olives around it before serving. Or blend together boiled egg yolks with garlic and olives for an olive flavored devilled egg. Breads with olive and cheese can be a treat for bread lovers. Even those on a low carb diet can enjoy olives in a tomato and olive salad. There’s a whole variety of olives available, so go ahead and use any that catches your fancy. A cup-sized serving of black olives at about 135 gm has 15% DV of vitamin E with 2.25 mg.10
A cup of canned green olives gives you even more vitamin E – 5.14 mg or 34.3%. However, because canned olives will also have a lot of salt from the pickling, it may be better to have much less than that amount. Stick to about 5–6 olives and you’ll get around 0.6 mg or 4% DV from green olives and 0.42 mg (2.8% DV) from that number of black olives.1112
7. Mango
[pullquote]A cup of mangoes: 1.49 mg of vitamin E (10% DV)[/pullquote]
The sweet luscious mango is a delicacy in Asia and the crowning glory of desserts like Thai sticky rice with mango or Indian aamras (mango pulp). If you knew that it contained 1.49 mg of vitamin E per cup of cubed fruit, you’d probably be celebrating it too! A delicious way to get nearly 10% DV of vitamin E, the mango is great to eat on its own with no frills. 13 But if you want to do something extra or have it on the go, add the cubed pieces along with some yogurt to a blender for your own homemade Mango lassi. Or if your tastes lean to the familiar, why not make a mango mousse or serve some mango with a freshly baked cake? For those with adventurous palates or a taste for sweet and spicy flavors combined, a mango salsa alongside a main meal is the perfect way to ring in warm weather.
8. Berries
Berries are nuggets of sweet, luscious goodness that are palate pleasers and beautiful to look at. Top your oatmeal or cereal with them and it will instantly perk you up every morning. Or make a summer berry pudding with bread soaked in the juices of the berries. A berry crisp is a quick and easy dessert that you can’t go wrong with. You may even find you enjoy berries in savory recipes like duck or pork recipes, chicken, and even salmon. Here’s the vitamin E content of some popular berries:
- Blackberries, 1 cup: 1.68 mg (11.2% DV)14
- Cranberries, 1 cup, chopped: 1.45 mg (9.7% DV)15
- Raspberries, 1 cup: 1.07 mg (7.1% DV)16
- Strawberries, 1 cup: 0.67 mg (4.5% DV) if pureed, 0.48 mg (3.2% DV) if sliced17
9. Tomato
[pullquote]A cup of tomatoes: 0.97 mg of vitamin E (6.5% DV)[/pullquote]
Tomatoes contain 0.97 mg or 6.5% DV of vitamin E per cup.18 Like red peppers and olives, you might not place them on a list of fruit intuitively, but that is technically what they are. Use tomatoes as a base for pasta sauces, stews, meaty casseroles and more. Or toss up a salad of fresh mozzarella with tomatoes and dressed with a light vinaigrette. Even a warming bowl of tomato soup can be delicious. With tomatoes, you don’t have to try too hard!
10. Papaya
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- A cup of cut papaya: 0.43 mg of vitamin E (2.9% DV)
- A cup of mashed papaya: 0.69 mg of vitamin E (4.6% DV)
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A cup of cut papaya has 0.43 mg or 2.9% DV of vitamin E. Have your papaya in a smoothie or juice and you’ll get more to the cup. A cup of mashed papaya has 0.69 mg of the vitamin, which is 4.6% DV.19 Papaya can be used to make a tropical-inspired salsa, refreshing sorbets, salads, or desserts like papaya mousse and fruit salads. You can also serve it alongside a coconut and sticky rice pudding.
Take your pick from this assortment of fruits to load up on vitamin E. They work a treat on their own, as juices, and even in desserts. And as you’ve seen, many of them can be incorporated into a range of savory recipes, so you could just as easily start your meal or feature them in the mains. Just dig in!
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