Vitamin E Fact Sheet – Benefits and Concerns

WOMENS HEALTH | HalfMiler | February 8, 2010 at 3:17 PM

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According to the Harvard Women’s Health Watch “today vitamin E is one of the most widely used supplements, taken regularly by nearly a quarter of adults ages fifty-five and over” (2005). Vitamin E is often taken as a preventative against many different diseases that include, but are not limited to, Alzheimer’s, cancer, allergies, asthma, dermatitis, high cholesterol and infertility. That listing is not even a third of the many uses of vitamin E. It is the believed antioxidant properties of vitamin E that makes it such a popular supplement to take for so many health issues. The ‘Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements’ (1996, p45) states that the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin E is 4.5 to 6.0 units for infants under one, 9 to 10.5 units for children one to ten years of age, 15 units for both males eleven plus and females who are pregnant, 12 units for females eleven plus, and 18 units for lactating females.

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch states that “vitamin E occurs in eight different forms” (2005). These eight different forms can be found in a multitude of foods and supplements. ‘Healing With Vitamins’ lists vegetable oils, nut oils, whole grains, wheat germ and spinach as some of the best sources in which to get vitamin E (2008, p48). Those who are deficient in vitamin E can experience nerve damage, muscle weakness and even anemia (Murray, 1996, p45). But it is not the deficiencies in vitamin E that can be harmful to a persons health. An overdose of this vitamin can cause some symptoms too. In some clinical studies done, involving many people over many years, those who took the normal recommended daily dosage of 400IU, or more, had a greater risk of death (Harvard Women’s Health Watch, 2005). The studies were done on people that already had some form of illness though, so to some people they may seem inconclusive. Just like it is difficult to know whether the claims of vitamin E’s benefits are true, it is also not so easy to dispel the negative claims and find all of the possible dangers.

Depending on what you read you will get different tellings of the possible concerns related to the taking of vitamin E. Some are saying that the recommended dosage of 400IUs is unhealthy. Yet some say that 800IUs a day have no negative side effects on most people when taken for thirty days (Murray, 1996, p53). ‘Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition & Diet Therapy’ states that there has been no toxicity syndrome identified with the use of vitamin E, but that those who take 1600mg to 3000mg a day have experienced fatigue, changes in thyroid function and some gastrointestinal disturbances (2007, p121). This same book also notes that exceeding 1000mg of vitamin E a day can lead to interference with blood platelets and prevent normal clotting of the blood (2007, p121). Another pitfall for vitamin E is that many people may be using it as a substitute for getting the right nutrition and a healthy diet. Eating foods that contain the right vitamins and nutrients is always better than taking supplements.

References

Easy Does It With Vitamins. Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Vol. 12, #7. March 2005.

Healing With Vitamins (2008). Rodale Health Books.Murray, M. (1996).

Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements. The Rivers Press.Schlenker, E. and Long, S.. (2007).

Williams’ Essentials of Nutrition & Diet Therapy. Mosby Elsevier.

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