What Are the Risks of Taking Too Much Vitamin E?

Vitamin E is a key nutrient for your health. But some research suggests that high doses of vitamin E can be harmful. So, before you start taking a supplement, it’s important to know how much is safe to take and the risks involved. 

Is it possible to get too much vitamin E? 

Yes, it’s possible to get too much vitamin E. But this is really only a risk if you're taking a supplement. 

Before we explain the risks of taking too much vitamin E, it first helps to understand exactly what it does in the body. 

Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant. This means it helps protect your cells from damage. It also has other important jobs — from strengthening your immune system to preventing blood clots. 

Vitamin E actually refers to a group of eight different compounds. The main compound that our body uses is sometimes referred to as “alpha-tocopherol.”

Your body doesn’t produce vitamin E, so you get it mostly from the foods you eat. More than 70% of vitamin E is broken down by your liver. The kidneys and the intestine also play a small role in vitamin E metabolism. 

Can you get too much vitamin E from food?

If you’re eating a well-balanced diet, you’re most likely getting less than the recommended amount. But that’s OK! Healthy people rarely have vitamin E deficiency. And we’ll cover what those signs are in more detail later on.

What are the risks of consuming too much vitamin E?

There’s no evidence that the amount of vitamin E you get through food is harmful. But if you're taking high-dose supplements, there may be risks. We explore them in greater detail below.

Abnormal bleeding and strokes

Vitamin E helps prevent blood clots by interfering with vitamin K. Vitamin K helps your body make proteins in the blood that form clots. So it makes sense that too much vitamin E increases the likelihood of bleeding.

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Animal studies have found exactly that. When rats were given high amounts of vitamin E, bleeding was more likely. And when given vitamin K, this bleeding was prevented. 

Studies in humans have focused on whether too much vitamin E increases the risk of stroke due to bleeding. This type of stroke is called a “hemorrhagic stroke.” And the results have been mixed.

One review of several studies found that vitamin E slightly increased hemorrhagic stroke. This increased risk was small, and it wasn’t found in all studies.

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And the results seem to be mixed between men and women. However, this could be related to differences in dosages in the studies:

• One large study followed men taking 800 mg of vitamin E every other day. It found that they were more likely to die from hemorrhagic stroke. 

• But a study of women taking 400 mg of vitamin E every other day saw no difference in stroke rates. 

• What’s more, a study of over 9,000 men and women taking 180 mg of vitamin E every day didn’t find a difference in the risk of stroke.

So, what’s the conclusion? If we look at the largest study to date, there’s no strong evidence that taking vitamin E increases the risk of a stroke from bleeding. 

Prostate cancer

Researchers have also studied whether too much vitamin E increases the risk of prostate cancer. The results so far are mixed.

At first, it was believed that vitamin E may protect men from prostate cancer. This was based on research that noted how male smokers who took 50 mg of vitamin E daily were less likely to develop prostate cancer. 

These findings led to a larger study in healthy men who took 180 mg of vitamin E daily. And in this study, researchers found that men who’d taken the vitamin E were more likely to develop prostate cancer.

In follow-up reviews of all the studies on the topic, researchers concluded that vitamin E doesn’t affect prostate cancer risk.

Mortality

Some research has also suggested that too much vitamin E may increase your chances of dying earlier than expected. But like stroke and prostate cancer, there’s a bit more to the story. And it’s hard to know with certainty if this is true based on the available data.

A review of several studies found that taking 180 mg of vitamin E daily increased the likelihood of death in 9 of 11 trials. But there was a number of problems with this review: 

• The included studies were all relatively small.

• In some studies, other supplements were taken in addition to vitamin E. 

• Most of the people in these studies also had chronic diseases, which may have played a role in their mortality risk. So, it’s hard to know whether these results apply to people who are relatively healthy. 

One other review of multiple studies also found that vitamin E increased the likelihood of death. 

On average across all the studies, the average daily dose was around 381 mg of vitamin E. But it’s important to note there was a pretty wide dose range from study to study. So it’s hard to know exactly the dose that led to these results.

Medication interactions 

It’s important to be mindful of how much vitamin E you’re getting if you take certain medications, including:

• Blood thinners (especially warfarin): Like vitamin E, warfarin blocks vitamin K. Together, they could significantly increase your risk of bleeding.

• Aspirin: Aspirin blocks an enzyme that helps platelets stick together to form clots. When taken with vitamin E, the risk of bleeding goes up.

• Certain heart medications (like propranolol): Vitamin E may interfere with your body’s absorption of the beta blocker propranolol and make it less effective. There’s also some evidence vitamin E could interfere with the cholesterol medications simvastatin and niacin. 

• Chemotherapy or radiation: Vitamin E may interfere with how well these therapies work. 

How much vitamin E do you need in a day?

How much vitamin E you need a day is based on your age. Younger infants and children don’t need as much vitamin E as adults. Recommended daily amounts (RDA) of vitamin E increase by age, as follows:

The upper limit of vitamin E intake for adults is 1,000 mg daily. But remember: Some studies have found harmful effects when taken at levels much lower than this. And our bodies don’t require very high levels of vitamin E. 

Where does most of your vitamin E come from?

You get most of your vitamin E from food. Foods that are high in vitamin E include:

• Vegetable oils, such as wheat germ, safflower, and sunflower oils

• Seeds, especially sunflower seeds

• Nuts, including peanuts, hazelnuts, and almonds

• Leafy green vegetables, like spinach and kale

Certain foods are also fortified with vitamin E — like cereals and fruit juices. You can find how much vitamin E a food contains by checking the food label.

When do you actually need a vitamin E supplement?

Vitamin E deficiency is rare, especially if you don’t have any specific health conditions. Some conditions increase the chances of vitamin E deficiency by interfering with its absorption. Other health conditions prevent fat absorption, which is needed for the body to absorb vitamin E. Examples include:

• Crohn’s disease

• Cystic fibrosis

Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency and abetalipoproteinemia also prevent the body from being able to absorb and use vitamin E properly. These conditions are both inherited and very rare.

What are the signs of vitamin E deficiency?

You may need to take vitamin E if you’re not getting enough — and if it’s causing problems with your health. 

Some of the signs of vitamin E deficiency include:

• Muscle weakness

• Feeling unsteady when you walk

• Loss of feeling in your arms and/or legs

• Vision problems

• Abnormal eye movements

Safety tips for vitamin E supplements

Some people may decide to take vitamin E supplements for their own personal reasons. If you're thinking about doing so, it’s important to consider the information on dosing (discussed above). And there are a few points on vitamin E supplements to consider: 

• Natural versus synthetic: Supplements may contain natural or synthetic vitamin E (or both). Natural vitamin E (RRR-alpha-tocopherol) is often labeled as d-alpha-tocopherol. Synthetic vitamin E (all-rac-alpha-tocopherol) is often labeled as dl-alpha-tocopherol. The synthetic form is about half as strong as the natural form. 

• Chemical changes: Supplements may be chemically changed to increase their shelf-life. In this case, you may see words like “alpha-tocopheryl acetate and succinate” on the label. Your body absorbs and uses these forms like it would natural vitamin E.

• High doses: Many supplements contain vitamin E doses higher than the recommended dose of 15 mg. Often, it’s 67 mg or more.

Given the risks associated with vitamin E, it may be best to talk to your healthcare team before you take it. They can help you understand any risks that may be more specific to you and your needs.

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Written by:

Cherilyn Davis, MD

Cherilyn Davis, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician in New York City. She has held local and national roles at the American Medical Women’s Association including board member of the physician division and physician chair of social media.

Edited by:

Katie E. Golden, MD

Katie E. Golden, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and a medical editor at GoodRx.

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