Vitamin E Dosage - How Much Vitamin E Should I Take?

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Vitamin E is not just one single compound. There are actually eight different kinds of vitamin E, and our bodies need all eight of them.

Any vitamin E supplement you take should contain a balance of tocopherols and tocotrienols, such as are found in the palm oil supplement Tocomin®. And if you are in good health and consume a balanced diet, as little as 10 milligrams of a balanced vitamin E may cover your minimum needs. But there are certain situations where you need more:

• If you get less than 15 per cent of your calories from fat, you may benefit from taking more than 10 mg a day of vitamin E. The reason for this is that fat in food dissolves vitamin E and carries it to the liver for distribution to the rest of the body.
• If you consume a foods made with "fake fats," such as Olestra, then you may need more vitamin E. Olestra can dissolve vitamin E, but because the fake fat is not absorbed by your body, the vitamin E is lost. Up to 200 IU of alpha-tocopherol (or alpha-tocopheryl acetate) plus 200 milligrams of tocotrienols per day may help you avoid vitamin E deficiency.
• If you have Crohn's disease or inflammatory bowel syndrome, your gut cannot absorb fat, so it cannot absorb vitamin E. You may benefit from a combination of up 400 IU of alpha-tocopherol (or alpha-tocopheryl acetate) plus 400 milligrams of tocotrienols per day may help you avoid vitamin E deficiency.
• If you have liver disease, then you may benefit from up to 800 IU of alpha-tocopherol (or alpha-tocopheryl acetate) plus 800 milligrams of tocotrienols per day. The reason people who have liver disease need more vitamin E is that an injured liver does not make as much bile. The bile salts are what capture vitamin E in the digestive tract and carry it into the bloodstream.
• And if you are over 50, or you have any kind of neurodegenerative disease, in particular Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, then you may benefit from up to 1200 IU of alpha-tocopherol (or alpha-tocopheryl acetate) plus 1200 milligrams of tocotrienols every day. Be sure to let your doctor know you are taking vitamin E or any other supplements.

Vitamin E supplements have been tested in dosages of up to 3,200 IU a day. At this dosage, there are occasionally problems with stomach upset. This is much more likely to be a problem when the product is old and the carrier oils have gone bad.

Probably much higher doses are OK, but since they have not been clinically tested, and there is a point at which additional vitamin E can't be stored by your body, no one should take more than 3,200 IU a day. That's the equivalent of 1,600 IU of alpha-tocopherol plus 1,600 mg of tocotrienols.

It only takes a little vitamin E to prevent vitamin E deficiency. It can take a whole lot more to support recovery from disease. Here are some minimum levels:

• It takes at least 50 IU a day for cancer prevention.
• It takes at least 100 IU a day for prevention of heart disease.
• It takes at least 400 IU a day to prevent hardening of the arteries.
• It takes at least 1,200 IU a day to slow the progression of neurological diseases associated with aging.

You will always benefit most from a product that contains a combination of alpha-tocopherol and the other forms of vitamin E. You will always benefit most from natural vitamin E. Here is how you recognize natural vitamin E:

• If it says d-alpha-tocopherol, it's natural.
• If it says dl-alpha-tocopherol (or d-alpha-tocopheryl), it's synthetic.
• If it doesn't say d or dl, then assume it's synthetic.

Why should you care?

Synthetic vitamin E contains eight different chemicals, only one of which can be absorbed by the human body. Natural vitamin E also contains eight different chemicals, but all of them are absorbed and used by the body. And if the label mentions beta-, gamma-, delta-tocopherol, or any kind of tocotrienol, you can be assured it's natural vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol is the only kind of vitamin E that can be synthesized.

If it's natural, it works harder, and you can benefit from less. If it's synthetic, you can take more without getting all the benefits you need.

Why would anybody take synthetic vitamin E?

The simple fact is, there's not enough real vitamin E being produced to go around. Until more food manufacturers are willing to divert at least little more of their organic plant oils to vitamin production, there will always be a demand for the artificial vitamin. But in the meantime you can rely on products by the best manufacturers, such as Life Extension and Xtend Life.

Visit our Vitamin E Overdose page for more information.

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