According to Marilyn Glenville, Ph.D., the symptoms of menopause may include night sweats and hot flashes, vaginal dryness and decreased heart health. Vitamin E may have some impact on these effects of menopause. Two forms of vitamin E are available, so make sure you're taking the right one if you seek relief from this source. D-alpha tocopherol is natural vitamin E. Dl-alpha-tocopherol is the synthetic version usually sold as a vitamin supplement and it is not effective.
Hot Flashes
According to the website Vitamins.LovetoKnow.com, the first studies into the relationship between vitamin E and menopausal hot flashes began in the 1940s. They showed a significant improvement in up to 50 percent of the women studied. Some properties of vitamin E may substitute for those of estrogen to minimize hot flashes. Menopausal women should take at least 600 IUs a day for hot flashes, according to Power-Surge.com. You can take an additional 200 IUs with an evening snack. Because vitamin E is fat-soluble, you should take it with a meal in order for it to be effective.
Heart Health
According to Glenville, a 1996 study published in the British medical journal The Lancet showed that heart attack risk in patients with arteriosclerosis dropped 75 percent when they were given Vitamin E. The website Vitamins.LovetoKnow.com also reports that studies have shown a reduced risk for heart attack in menopausal women who took vitamin E for a minimum of two years.
Vaginal Dryness
Glenville cites a study that reported improvement in 50 percent of women experiencing vaginal dryness as a symptom of menopause on only 400 IUs of vitamin E daily. She also says that when used internally as a suppository for up to six weeks, vitamin E relieves dryness.
Dry Skin
Menopause can result in itchy, dry skin. Hormonal changes can cause hair to dry out and break more easily. The website Women's Health reports that vitamin E can counteract these symptoms.
Contraindications
If you suffer from hypertension, you should not take supplements of vitamin E, according to the website Vitamins.LovetoKnow.com. The website also warns that vitamin E can be toxic when taken over recommended dosages. Some studies have not been able to confirm that vitamin E helps symptoms of menopause at all, but there's no harm in trying it--in its natural form and at recommended doses--if you suffer from the targeted symptoms.
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