Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant found naturally in many foods and available in supplement form. The vitamin promotes healing, protects against aging, and can help improve the appearance of your skin, making it a popular ingredient in many lotions and other skin-care items. Even if you purchase skin-care products that contain vitamin E, it is still essential to your skin's health to consume the vitamin through dietary sources.
Background
Antioxidants like vitamin E protect the skin against cell-damaging free radicals. Vitamin E specifically protects the cell membranes. Free radicals form from exposure to various substances, including ultraviolet rays and pollution, wreaking havoc on your skin and causing a number of conditions, such as premature aging and dark spots. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that vitamin E may be able to protect against skin and other types of cancer, but further research is required.
Recommendations
The National Institutes of Health advises that adults consume 15 mg of vitamin E daily. Breast-feeding women should consume 19 mg per day. Vitamin E is found naturally in many foods, including wheat germ, nuts, seeds, spinach, kiwi, broccoli, whole grains and tomatoes. With so many dietary sources of vitamin E, it's fairly simple to consume enough through diet alone. If you are still concerned you may not be getting enough vitamin E, talk to your doctor about whether a vitamin E supplement or a multivitamin is right for you.
Risks
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means your body can store it for much longer than it can store water-soluble vitamins. Because of this, there is a higher risk of toxicity with vitamin E. The risks associated with consuming too much vitamin E include hemorrhaging and an increased risk for stroke. These risks tend to occur when exceeding the upper tolerable limit of 1,000 mg daily for adults. Because it is difficult to consume too much vitamin E through diet alone, most cases of vitamin E toxicity are due to supplements. If you are currently taking vitamin E supplements, be sure to take your diet into consideration, so you don't exceed the upper tolerable limits.
Considerations
The Mayo Clinic notes that vitamin E supplements don't appear to have the same benefits as dietary sources of vitamin E. The exact reason is still unknown, but may stem from the fact that there are several vitamin E compounds and most supplements consist of just one type. To derive the most benefits from vitamin E, try to consume it from dietary sources alone. One simple step is switching to whole-grain products or adding an extra serving of vegetables to your dinner. As an added bonus, the fat-soluble vitamin content of dietary sources doesn't diminish when food is cooked, so you can prepare your vegetables however you prefer.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin E; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; December 14, 2009
- National Institutes of Health; Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin E; December 15, 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Possible Risks Associated with Taking Vitamin E Supplements; Donald Hensrud, MD; March 18, 2011
- Colorado State University Extension; Fat-Soluble Vitamins; J. Anderson and L. Young; August 2008
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