The Health Benefits of Vitamin E — and the Risks

Vitamins are an important part of a balanced and nutritious diet. But it can be overwhelming to figure out which vitamins you need, and for what. Vitamin E doesn’t always get a lot of attention, but it plays an important role in the body. You can find it naturally in some foods, especially foods that have healthy fats. Here we will discuss the reported benefits and risks of vitamin E and how to up your intake.

What are the health benefits of vitamin E?

Vitamin E has some important health benefits. The studies that look at the benefits of vitamin E in humans can sometimes have differing conclusions. But we’ll walk through the reported benefits and give you a glimpse into the research. 

Protects from cancer 

Vitamin E is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help protect your cells from free radicals in your body. These little molecules can lead to inflammation, premature aging, heart disease, and some cancers. 

Some studies have found that vitamin E supplements helped lower the chances of breast cancer recurrence and colon cancer, particularly in younger women. Another study noted that it lowered the risk of prostate cancer in men who smoke. 

But not all studies have shown this benefit. A much larger study — “The Women's Health Study” — didn’t show that taking vitamin E can prevent cancer overall. Another study, which we look at more in-depth in the risks section below, found that vitamin E supplements increased the risk of prostate cancer in healthy men.

So it’s possible that vitamin E lowers cancer risk only in certain groups of people. But this is definitely an area that needs more research.

Protects the brain 

Free radicals in your brain may also increase your risk for conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease over time. It seems clear that adequate levels of vitamin E are important in slowing down age-related changes in your brain. Some studies also show that vitamin E helps to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Even though other studies show no benefit, research points towards some degree of brain health benefit from vitamin E. 

Boosts immune system 

Vitamin E plays an important role in the immune system. It helps your body make the types of cells that fight off bacterial and viral infections. Right now, this effect is easier to see in a lab. There’s less evidence to show it lowers infection rates in the real world. 

Lowers the risk of blood clots

One of the most widely accepted benefits of vitamin E is the way that it helps to prevent blood clots. It does this in two ways:

• It helps blood vessels expand, which allows blood to flow more easily through veins.

• It makes the surface of blood vessels less sticky. This means the things that form blood clots, like platelets, are less able to stick together and attach themselves to the blood vessel. 

EXPERT PICKS: WHAT TO READ NEXT

• What foods are high in vitamin E? You probably don’t need a supplement. But it’s important to know how to get enough vitamin E from food.

• Vitamin E supplements: If you’re thinking about taking a vitamin E supplement, our guide walks you through everything you need to know first.

• Can you take too much vitamin E? Yes. We do an in-depth dive on the health risks associated with high doses of vitamin E.

Lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke

Vitamin E may provide protection against conditions like heart disease and strokes in a few different ways:

• Free radicals can damage the heart, too. So its antioxidant effects may be beneficial.

• Lab studies show it may prevent bad cholesterol from damaging blood vessels.

• It prevents blood clots, as we explained above.

But this is another benefit where the studies are mixed. An older study from 1993 looked at women who took vitamin E supplements and found that they had a lower risk of coronary artery disease. But a big trial that came out in 2000 didn’t see a decrease in heart health problems. And since then, the data continues to be unclear.   

The American Heart Association has weighed in on this topic. It concludes there’s not enough evidence to show that vitamin E provides protection from heart disease. 

Supports eye health

Vitamin E can support good vision. Free radicals can also contribute to eye conditions like cataracts and a condition called age-related macular degeneration. But not surprisingly, the data is conflicting here, too.

A large study shows that vitamin E can help prevent the development of macular degeneration in people at high risk of the disease. But in the general population, it’s less clear if vitamin E can help prevent eye disease. So if you are older and at high risk of vision loss, vitamin E may be a good supplement to add to your daily regimen. But otherwise, it may not help prevent eye problems for everyone.

What are good sources of vitamin E?

Vitamin E can be found in foods and as a supplement. 

Food 

The foods naturally highest in vitamin E are:

• Nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, and peanuts

• Seeds like sunflower seeds

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

• Avocado 

• Green leafy veggies like spinach and broccoli

• Kiwifruit

• Peanut butter

Some companies also add vitamin E to processed foods, such as cereals, juices, and margarine. Check food labels to find which items have vitamin E added to them.

Supplements 

Vitamin E can be found in supplements, in a form of vitamin E called alpha-tocopherol. It can be found as a stand-alone supplement, combined with other antioxidants (like vitamin C), or in multivitamins. 

But most people don’t need a dedicated vitamin E supplement. Even if people get less than the needed amount from their diet, problems with vitamin E deficiency are very rare in healthy adults. And as we explain in the next section, vitamin E supplements can even be harmful.

How much vitamin E should you take per day? 

The National Institute of Health says that most adults need 15 mg of vitamin E every day. Amounts vary in children as well as in people who are breastfeeding.  

Is too much vitamin E bad for you?

Yes, too much vitamin E has been associated with dangerous side effects and health risks.

Vitamin E from food isn’t dangerous. But supplements that deliver a high dose can be harmful. The maximum amount of vitamin E that any adult should take from a supplement is 1,000 mg per day. But even doses much lower than this — like 180 mg to 400 mg — have been associated with some harms, such as:

• Excess amounts of vitamin E can thin your blood, making you more likely to bleed. This effect is even more significant if you’re taking other blood thinners like aspirin or warfarin. 

• Excess vitamin E has been linked to a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain, called a hemorrhagic stroke. 

• A review of several studies show that 180 mg of daily vitamin E can increase “all-cause mortality,” which is your risk of dying from any cause. But because of the way these studies were designed, it’s difficult to know if the increased deaths in these studies are really due to vitamin E supplements. 

• One study found that healthy men who took vitamin E daily (for 3 years) had a higher rate of prostate cancer. But given this contradicts the results of other studies, experts are calling for more research to figure this one out. 

It’s also important to note that some healthcare professionals recommend that vitamin E (as well as other antioxidants) should be avoided during cancer therapy with chemotherapy and radiation. The thought is that antioxidants may reduce the effectiveness of killing off cancer cells.  

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Written by:

Nicole Andonian, MD

Nicole Andonian, MD, is a private practice anesthesiologist in Orange County, California. Her focus is in general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and acute pain management.

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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