Vitamin E supplements are primarily used for their antioxidant activity. This eMedTV Web page explains how the vitamin works, describes the possible benefits of using vitamin E products, and offers general warnings and precautions for these products.
Vitamin E may be beneficial for skin health, heart health, and preventing cancer. As this part of the eMedTV Web site explains, many alleged benefits of vitamin E have no supporting evidence. The vitamin does, however, have antioxidant effects.
Vitamin E is known for its antioxidant effects, but does vitamin E work? This eMedTV page explores the effectiveness of vitamin E for cancer prevention, skin health, vitamin deficiency, heart health, and Alzheimer's disease (prevention and treatment).
High doses of vitamin E may increase the risk of bleeding. This page from the eMedTV library lists other potential side effects that may occur with vitamin E. Safety of high vitamin E doses in pregnant or breastfeeding women has not been studied.
High doses of vitamin E could cause side effects, such as fatigue, intestinal cramping, or diarrhea. This eMedTV resource lists other vitamin E side effects (including potentially serious ones) that may occur if you take high-dose supplementation.
Your vitamin E dosage should not exceed 400 IU each day. This eMedTV article provides a chart with the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E use in children and adults, and discusses the potential dangers of taking high doses of vitamin E.
Warfarin, NSAIDs, and aspirin are some of the drugs that may interact with vitamin E. As this eMedTV segment explains, vitamin E drug interactions can increase your risk of bleeding (although it is not known how severe these interactions may be).
A vitamin E overdose could lead to fatigue, diarrhea, and headaches (especially a long-term overdose). This eMedTV resource lists other symptoms that may occur if you take high doses of vitamin E and explains what treatment options are available.
Taking too much vitamin E during pregnancy could be dangerous. This segment from the eMedTV archives offers more information on vitamin E and pregnancy, and lists the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) of vitamin E for pregnant women.
Breastfeeding women have a slightly higher need for vitamin E than other adults. This eMedTV segment provides more information on vitamin E and breastfeeding, and explains what the recommended dietary intake of vitamin E is for breastfeeding women.
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