Vitamin E product health benefit and safety - overdose, toxicity and proper dosage for long term health and disease prevention

Also known as tocopherol, vitamin E was isolated in the 1920s. There is general agreement that this fat-soluble vitamin can function as an excellent antioxidant protecting cells from damage. Many people believe that taking 400 units or higher, such as 1000 units a day will help them live longer, but there is no evidence that this would occur.

Recommendations
The average American diet contains between 10 and 22 international units of vitamin E. Additional intake is likely to be beneficial. Most healthy adults should do well with supplementing with 20 to 400 units two or three times a week. Very high dosages, such as 1,000 units or more, can lead to an increase in bleeding tendency, tiredness, and possibly impaired immune function.

Vitamin E - Tocopherol Complex supplement, Now Foods

Tocotrienols and related molecules tocopherols are potent antioxidants that are 100% natural. These nutrients have been combined with d-alpha vitamin E, and yeast-free Selenium. The result is a synergistic combination of nutritional antioxidants.



 


Q. It says that these vitamin E capsules contains water. Vitamin-E supplements, d alpha beta delta gamma tocopherols tocotrienol. Would that be in the capsule itself or in the vitamin E oil? What does the capsule outer shell contain? I'm after a vitamin E with no water, could I just use the contents inside the capsule to get a no water vitamin E?
   A. Even if the tiniest amount of water is found in a product it is required to be listed, water is added as part of the manufacturing process, we don’t see the concern since people ingest water every day, unless you have a concern that we don’t understand. Water is not in the capsule but as part of the other ingredients within the capsule made of gelatin. It makes no sense to get a vitamin e without water, people swallow their vitamin e pills with a glass of water or take it with a meal that has water or fluids.

Several types of natural vitamin E compounds are available, including alpha-, beta-, gamma-and delta-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol seems to be the most active, although we should not dismiss the importance of the others. It seems prudent to supplement with products that have mixed tocopherols as opposed to just alpha-tocopherol. Supplementation of diets with alpha-tocopherol reduces serum concentrations of gamma- and delta-tocopherol in humans.

Why take a combination of tocopherols?
Supplementation of diets with alpha-tocopherol reduces serum concentrations of gamma- and delta-tocopherol in humans. Therefore, it appears that it is healthier to take a combination of different natural forms of vitamin E.

Vitamin E overdose, symptoms, side effects
Digestive disturbances are common with vitamin E overdose. Very high dosages of vitamin E, such as 1,000 units or more, can lead to an increase in bleeding tendency, tiredness, weakness, headache, nausea, and possibly impaired immune function. The symptoms of vitamin E overdose go away relatively quickly after stopping the supplement. It is nearly impossible to have a vitamin E overdose from food alone.

Are you taking too much vitamin E?
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore pooled data from 19 trials of vitamin E supplementation. These included nearly 136,000 subjects who were randomly assigned to take vitamin E or placebo capsules and were followed for more than a year. Overall, vitamin E supplementation did not affect mortality rates. However, the trials testing doses of 400 IU daily or higher showed 39 more deaths occurred per 10,000 people taking high-dose vitamin E than among the same number of people taking a placebo. For low doses of vitamin E -- less than 150 IU daily --  mortality rates were slightly decreased.
     For most people, taking more than 100 to 200 units a day of vitamin E is not necessary. The one problem with this study, though, is that it probably did not make a distinction between synthetic vitamin E supplements and natural vitamin E. On a supplement label, natural vitamin E is listed as d-alpha tocopherol. In contrast, synthetic forms of vitamin E are labeled with a dl- prefix. Also, the study did not account for the d-alpha form of vitamin E versus a natural Vitamin E supplement that includes all the tocopherols and tocotrienols. Even though it is a flawed study, we still think 50 to 200 units a few times a week is quite adequate.

Vitamin E and mental decline
Older adults with low levels of vitamin E are likely to see a faster deterioration in physical function than those with higher vitamin E levels. The authors point out that vitamin E, being a powerful antioxidant, may protect against DNA and muscle damage, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative disorders. Journal of the American Medical Association, January 23, 2008.

Vitamin E and pregnancy
Pregnant women with high vitamin E levels in their blood may tend to have bigger babies. Vitamin E intake during pregnancy may be important for fetal growth, or, a woman's vitamin E levels could simply be a marker of other factors that promote fetal development -- like a healthful overall diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2006.

Vitamin E and beta thalassemia
Vitamin E Supplementation Reduces Oxidative Stress in Beta Thalassaemia Intermedia.
Acta Haematol. 2009 Feb. Pfeifer WP, Degasperi GR, Almeida MT, Vercesi AE, Costa FF, Saad ST. Hemocentro and Laboratory of Bioenergetics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.
The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of vitamin E treatment in oxidative stress of red and white cells of beta-thalassemia intermedia patients. Nine patients undergoing occasional transfusions (5 females / 4 males), median age 39 years, were recruited for oral daily administration of 400 IU vitamin E for three months. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by flow cytometry; red blood cell (RBC) reduced glutathione (GSH) was measured by dinitrothiocyanobenzene reduction, serum malondialdehyde was measured in terms of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and alpha-haemoglobin-stabilizing protein (AHSP) mRNA expression was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction of reticulocyte RNA extracts. beta-Thalassaemia patients presented basal levels of RBC ROS, GSH and serum TBARS statistically different compared with healthy controls. However, after vitamin E administration, patients presented a significant reduction in erythrocyte RBC ROS and serum TBARS levels. In parallel, red cell GSH was significantly increased after treatment. Peripheral mononuclear cells and T lymphocytes also demonstrated a reduction in ROS production. Therefore, after treatment, no significant differences were detected comparing patients and normal controls. Three months after treatment completion, all measurements showed a tendency of returning to basal values. A significant reduction in reticulocyte number was observed after vitamin E treatment. Vitamin E treatment did not modify levels of haemoglobin or AHSP mRNA expression. Conclusion: Although vitamin E is not capable of reducing anemia in these patients, it could be useful for reducing oxidative damage in other target organs of beta-thalassemia patients.

Vitamin E product questions
Q. I have read before that taking vitamin products that have natural vitamin E can raise estrogen levels in the body because natural vitamin E is plant based. Do you know if there is any truth in this idea? I am 37 years old. Is it important as men age to try to suppress estrogen with products like chysin or DIM? Is it possible to free up the bound testosterone from SHBG? I'm trying to understand why my drive was stronger when I was 25.
   A. We have not seen any evidence that natural vitamin E has any significant estrogenic effect. We don't have any reason to suspect that men need to take chrysin or DIM to suppress estrogen. Sex drive naturally decreases with age, it may be hormonal or other factors may also be involved.

Q. Does a vitamin E supplement influence the thyroid gland to a great extent?
   A. We have not seen any studies that indicate taking a vitamin E supplement has a strong influence on thyroid gland hormone release.

Q. I understand that curcumin extract is a potent antioxidant, is is more potent than vitamin E?
   A. They work in different ways, so we would not say one is preferable to the other.

I take a vitamin E pill daily, would there be a risk for overdose if I combine it with tribulus terrestris extract. In other words, would the herb increase the levels of the vitamin in the blood?
    We don't think so, there should be little or no interactions between the two supplements.