Vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient found in many foods. In the body, it acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are compounds formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy. People are also exposed to free radicals in the environment from cigarette smoke, air pollution, and ultraviolet light from the sun.

The body also needs vitamin E to boost its immune system so that it can fight off invading bacteria and viruses. It helps to widen blood vessels and keep blood from clotting within them. In addition, cells use vitamin E to interact with each other and to carry out many important functions.
Table of Contents

    What is vitamin E and what does it do?
    How much vitamin E do I need?
    What foods provide vitamin E?
    What kinds of vitamin E dietary supplements are available?
    Am I getting enough vitamin E?
    What happens if I don't get enough vitamin E?
    What are some effects of vitamin E on health?
    Can vitamin E be harmful?
    Are there any interactions with vitamin E that I should know about?
    Vitamin E and healthful eating
    Where can I find out more about vitamin E?
    Disclaimer

How much vitamin E do I need?

The amount of vitamin E you need each day depends on your age. Average daily recommended intakes are listed below in milligrams (mg) and in International Units (IU). Package labels list the amount of vitamin E in foods and dietary supplements in IU.
Life Stage     Recommended Amount
Birth to 6 months    4 mg (6 IU)
Infants 7–12 months    5 mg (7.5 IU)
Children 1–3 years    6 mg (9 IU)
Children 4–8 years    7 mg (10.4 IU)
Children 9–13 years    11 mg (16.4 IU)
Teens 14–18 years    15 mg (22.4 IU)
Adults    15 mg (22.4 IU)
Pregnant teens and women    15 mg (22.4 IU)
Breastfeeding teens and women    19 mg (28.4 IU)
What foods provide vitamin E?

Vitamin E is found naturally in foods and is added to some fortified foods. You can get recommended amounts of vitamin E by eating a variety of foods including the following:

    Vegetable oils like wheat germ, sunflower, and safflower oils are among the best sources of vitamin E. Corn and soybean oils also provide some vitamin E.
    Nuts (such as peanuts, hazelnuts, and, especially, almonds) and seeds (like sunflower seeds) are also among the best sources of vitamin E.
    Green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, provide some vitamin E.
    Food companies add vitamin E to some breakfast cereals, fruit juices, margarines and spreads, and other foods. To find out which ones have vitamin E, check the product labels.

What kinds of vitamin E dietary supplements are available?

Vitamin E supplements come in different amounts and forms. Two main things to consider when choosing a vitamin E supplement are:

    The amount of vitamin E: Most once-daily multivitamin-mineral supplements provide about 30 IU of vitamin E, whereas vitamin E-only supplements usually contain 100 to 1,000 IU per pill. The doses in vitamin E-only supplements are much higher than the recommended amounts. Some people take large doses because they believe or hope that doing so will keep them healthy or lower their risk of certain diseases.
    The form of vitamin E: Although vitamin E sounds like a single substance, it is actually the name of eight related compounds in food, including alpha-tocopherol. Each form has a different potency, or level of activity in the body.

Vitamin E from natural (food) sources is listed as "d-alpha-tocopherol" on food packaging and supplement labels. Synthetic (laboratory-made) vitamin E is listed as "dl-alpha-tocopherol." The natural form is more potent. For example, 100 IU of natural vitamin E is equal to about 150 IU of the synthetic form.

Some vitamin E supplements provide other forms of the vitamin, such as gamma-tocopherol, tocotrienols, and mixed tocopherols. Scientists do not know if any of these forms are superior to alpha-tocopherol in supplements.
Am I getting enough vitamin E?

The diets of most Americans provide less than the recommended amounts of vitamin E. Nevertheless, healthy people rarely show any clear signs that they are not getting enough vitamin E (see next question for information on the signs of vitamin E deficiency).
What happens if I don't get enough vitamin E?

Vitamin E deficiency is very rare in healthy people. It is almost always linked to certain diseases where fat is not properly digested or absorbed. Examples include Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and certain rare genetic diseases such as abetalipoproteinemia and ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED). Vitamin E needs some fat for the digestive system to absorb it.

Vitamin E deficiency can cause nerve and muscle damage that results in loss of feeling in the arms and legs, loss of body movement control, muscle weakness, and vision problems. Another sign of deficiency is a weakened immune system.
What are some effects of vitamin E on health?

Scientists are studying vitamin E to understand how it affects health. Here are several examples of what this research has shown.

Heart disease
Some studies link higher intakes of vitamin E from supplements to lower chances of developing heart disease. But the best research finds no benefit. People in these studies are randomly assigned to take vitamin E or a placebo (dummy pill with no vitamin E or active ingredients) and they don't know which they are taking. Vitamin E supplements do not seem to prevent heart disease, reduce its severity, or affect the risk of death from this disease. Scientists do not know whether high intakes of vitamin E might protect the heart in younger, healthier people who do not have a high risk of heart disease.

Cancer
Most research indicates that vitamin E does not help prevent cancer and may be harmful in some cases. Large doses of vitamin E have not consistently reduced the risk of colon and breast cancer in studies, for example. A large study found that taking vitamin E supplements (400 IU/day) for several years increased the risk of developing prostate cancer in men. Two studies that followed middle-aged men and women for 7 or more years found that extra vitamin E (300–400 IU/day, on average) did not protect them from any form of cancer. However, one study found a link between the use of vitamin E supplements for 10 years or more and a lower risk of death from bladder cancer.

Vitamin E dietary supplements and other antioxidants might interact with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. People undergoing these treatments should talk with their doctor or oncologist before taking vitamin E or other antioxidant supplements, especially in high doses.

Eye disorders
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), or the loss of central vision in older people, and cataracts are among the most common causes of vision loss in older people. The results of research on whether vitamin E can help prevent these conditions are inconsistent. Among people with early-stage AMD, a supplement containing large doses of vitamin E combined with other antioxidants, zinc, and copper showed promise for slowing down the rate of vision loss.

Mental function
Several studies have investigated whether vitamin E supplements might help older adults remain mentally alert and active as well as prevent or slow the decline of mental function and Alzheimer's disease. So far, the research provides little evidence that taking vitamin E supplements can help healthy people or people with mild mental functioning problems to maintain brain health.
Can vitamin E be harmful?

Eating vitamin E in foods is not risky or harmful. In supplement form, high doses of vitamin E might increase the risk of bleeding (by reducing the blood's ability to form clots after a cut or injury) and of serious bleeding in the brain (known as hemorrhagic stroke). The highest safe level of intake from supplements for adults is 1,500 IU/day for natural forms of vitamin E and 1,100 IU/day for the synthetic form. The highest safe levels for children are lower than for adults. Some recent research suggests that intakes of vitamin E below these upper safe levels could increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. Vitamin E might also increase the risk of death in some adults with chronic health conditions, but this does not seem to be the case in healthy people.
Are there any interactions with vitamin E that I should know about?

Vitamin E dietary supplements can interact or interfere with certain medicines that you take. Here are some examples:

    Vitamin E can increase the risk of bleeding in people taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines, such as warfarin (Coumadin®).
    In one study, vitamin E plus other antioxidants (such as vitamin C, selenium, and beta-carotene) reduced the heart-protective effects of two drugs taken in combination (a statin and niacin) to affect blood-cholesterol levels.
    Taking antioxidant supplements while undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer could alter the effectiveness of these treatments.

Tell your doctor, pharmacist, and other health care providers about any dietary supplements and medicines you take. They can tell you if those dietary supplements might interact or interfere with your prescription or over-the-counter medicines, or if the medicines might interfere with how your body absorbs, uses, or breaks down nutrients.
Vitamin E and healthful eating

People should get most of their nutrients from food, advises the federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Foods contain vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other substances that benefit health. Dietary supplements might help in some situations to increase the intake of a specific vitamin or mineral. For more information on building a healthy diet, refer to the Dietary Guidelines for Americansexternal link icon and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food guidance system, ChooseMyPlateexternal link icon.

This fact sheet provides basic information about aloe vera—common names, what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information.

Aloe vera’s use can be traced back 6,000 years to early Egypt, where the plant was depicted on stone carvings. Known as the “plant of immortality,” aloe was presented as a burial gift to deceased pharaohs.

Historically, aloe was used topically to heal wounds and for various skin conditions, and orally as a laxative. Today, in addition to these uses, aloe is used as a folk or traditional remedy for a variety of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and osteoarthritis. It is also used topically for osteoarthritis, burns, sunburns, and psoriasis. Aloe vera gel can be found in hundreds of skin products, including lotions and sunblocks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aloe vera as a natural food flavoring.

Aloe leaves contain a clear gel that is often used as a topical ointment. The green part of the leaf that surrounds the gel can be used to produce a juice or a dried substance (called latex) that is taken by mouth.


What the Science Says

    Aloe latex contains strong laxative compounds. Products made with various components of aloe (aloin, aloe-emodin, and barbaloin) were at one time regulated by the FDA as oral over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives. In 2002, the FDA required that all OTC aloe laxative products be removed from the U.S. market or reformulated because the companies that manufactured them did not provide the necessary safety data.
    Early studies show that topical aloe gel may help heal burns and abrasions. One study, however, showed that aloe gel inhibits healing of deep surgical wounds. Aloe gel has not been shown to prevent burns from radiation therapy.
    There is not enough scientific evidence to support aloe vera for any of its other uses.


Side Effects and Cautions

    Use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant side effects.
    A 2-year National Toxicology Program (NTP) study on oral consumption of non-decolorized whole leaf extract of aloe vera found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in male and female rats, based on tumors of the large intestine. According to the NTP, from what is known right now there is nothing that would lead them to believe that these findings are not relevant to humans. However, more information, including how individuals use different types of aloe vera products, is needed to determine the potential risks to humans.
    Abdominal cramps and diarrhea have been reported with oral use of aloe vera.
    Diarrhea, caused by the laxative effect of oral aloe vera, can decrease the absorption of many drugs.
    People with diabetes who use glucose-lowering medication should be cautious if also taking aloe by mouth because preliminary studies suggest aloe may lower blood glucose levels.
    There have been a few case reports of acute hepatitis from aloe vera taken orally. However, the evidence is not definitive.
    Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care. For tips about talking with your health care providers about complementary and alternative medicine, see NCCAM's Time to Talk campaign.




Sources

    Aloe. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Web site. Accessed at www.naturaldatabase.com on May 4, 2009.
    Aloe (Aloe vera). Natural Standard Database Web site. Accessed at www.naturalstandard.com on May 4, 2009.

During the recent years, considering specific preventive role of astatines in patients at high risk of acute cardiovascular attacks, astatines are widely consumed. Considering respective statistics in 2006, 76% of unexpected sale has been allocated to Astatines for 26.- Billion Dollars.

As reported by the reporter for site of Borderless Physicians, various clinical studies recently contracted all over the world on astatines have shown advantages of controllers of 3 hydroxy 3 methylglutaryl coenzyme a hmg coa retractase inhibitors with astatines have been propounded for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. According to the results of studies, it has been found that in addition to its simple effect on decrease of blood cholesterol, astatine enjoys other remarkable advantages and these medical compounds may also be used for treatment and prevention of non-cardiac disorders such as cancers, infections, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic occlusive diseases, chronic occlusive pulmonary disorders and other functional pulmonary complications and polycystic ovary syndrome accordingly.  It should be mentioned that role of astatines in treatment or prevention of the aforesaid diseases has not been proved yet.

Astatines prevent cellular multiplication and enjoy anti-inflammatory and immunity suppressing effect. Thus, we may use this group of medicines for recovery of specific diseases.