A friend of mine in Canada, Mrs. K., had seven early miscarriages during eight years of marriage. She was unimpressed by my repeated advice to try wheat germ oil and vitamin E, because her obstetrician didn’t think it was worth considering. However, when another friend, a veterinarian, told her that this was exactly the treatment he had been using successfully on horses and cows with records of miscarriage, she decided to try. Within three months she became pregnant and, after a full nine-month pregnancy, delivered a healthy boy.
The healthy functioning of the reproductive system is dependent on many factors. Both psychological and physiological causes must be considered. Nutrition is, of course, a most vital factor. Many vitamins and other nutritive substances are directly involved in a healthy sex life. But if there Was one vitamin which could be called the sex vitamin, then it would be vitamin E.
It has been established that vitamin E can prevent miscarriage and stillbirths. Vitamin E is essential for the normal production of sex hormones. It has been demonstrated in animal tests that when vitamin E is deficient, the testicles degenerate and production of hormones is diminished—both sex hormones and pituitary hormones, which stimulate sex glands.2 Vitamin E, being a natural and powerful anti-oxidant, also protects sex hormones from destruction by oxidation. Dr. Evan Shute of Canada, a pioneer in the use of vitamin E for disorders in the reproductive system, has used vitamin E extensively and successfully in the treatment of various disorders from male sterility to miscarriages and menopausal symptoms. In one study he used vitamin E in 153 pregnancies in which there were 122 threatened abortions and 87 threatened miscarriages. 60 percent of the abortions and 86 percent of the miscarriages were prevented by vitamin E treatment. Dr. Shute says that vitamin E deficiency is very common in pregnant women.
Vitamin E has also been found to relieve the symptoms of menopause, or change of life: hot flashes, dizziness, pain, etc. Doses of 150 to 300 milligrams a day are prescribed in such cases. A Hungarian doctor has found that vitamin E decreases pain in childbirth labor.
Vitamin E is, indeed, absolutely essential for the normal function of the reproductive system and a healthy sex life. The best natural source of vitamin E is wheat germ oil and wheat germ. Other good sources are cold-pressed vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean oil, and sunflower seed oil. Green vegetables are also good sources, particularly cauliflower, turnips, and spinach. Milk and dairy products are also good sources. You can also buy vitamin E in capsule form at health food stores or drug stores. Doses most often recommended by doctors are between 300 and 600 I.U. per day.
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