Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that you obtain from your diet. It affects several of your organs and systems, helping ensure they function properly and keep you healthy and disease-free. Because it is fat-soluble, foods that contain some fat are the best sources of vitamin E. Consuming enough vitamin E is important for your health, but taking in too much can cause potentially serious problems.
Vitamin E is also called alpha-tocopherol, which describes the specific chemical form that your body is most able to use. The vitamin has several functions, but its main role is to act as an antioxidant, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Antioxidants stabilize and help remove chemicals called free radicals that form in your body as a natural byproduct of digestion. These compounds also develop in your skin and eyes when you are exposed to sunlight, or in other organs when you encounter environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke and some industrial chemicals. Over time, build up of free radicals can accelerate aging and raise your risk of disorders such as cancer and heart disease.
Consuming vitamin E may improve the health of your cardiovascular system and help you avoid vascular disorders and heart disease. The Linus Pauling Institute reports that several large clinical studies suggest that use of vitamin E might prevent heart attacks or death from heart disease. For example, in one study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine," more than 39,000 healthy men were followed for four years. The group that consumed at least 100 international units of vitamin E daily for two years or more had 63 percent fewer cases of heart disease than the group that did not take vitamin E. The Institute says that taking vitamin E may also help prevent atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Vitamin E also supports your immune system, helping your body fight off pathogens, an effect that might be especially important as you get older. A clinical study in "Journal of the American Medical Association" showed that elderly subjects who took vitamin E for one year had fewer respiratory infections than a placebo group. Vitamin E's antioxidant action might also benefit your eyes and help prevent cataracts, which form when proteins in the lenses of your eyes are oxidized. It might also help prevent cancer by blocking DNA oxidation, although results of clinical trials have been mixed and further clinical research is still needed to confirm this benefit.
Overdosing and RDA
It is possible to consume too much vitamin E, according to the University of Florida, which says that your daily intake of vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol should not exceed 1,000 milligrams or 1,500 units. Consuming more than this amount could lead to bleeding problems, which might become severe enough to cause bleeding in your brain, leading to a stroke. The Recommended Dietary Allowance, or RDA, of vitamin E for adults is 15 milligrams daily, or 22 international units. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, you need slightly more, about 19 milligrams or 29 international units. You can obtain adequate amounts of vitamin E by eating a healthy, well-balanced diet. You might also take vitamin E supplements, but discuss these with your doctor first to decide if they are advisable for you.
Articles For Your Diet
- Harvard School of Public Health: Vitamin E and Health
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Facts About Vitamin E
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin E
- MayoClinic.com: Vitamin E
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin E
- New England Journal of Medicine: Vitamin E Consumption and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Vitamin E and Respiratory Infections in Elderly Nursing Home Residents: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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