Vitamin E Toxicity

Vitamin E is a 'magical vitamin' as it can change your looks completely. Vitamin E helps you get glowing skin and strong hair. Not only the looks, but it improves your overall health significantly. Vitamin E capsules work great for your skin, hair and immunity. Liquid vitamin E is given to children or adults to treat skin disorders, hair problems or inflammatory diseases as vitamin E exhibits antioxidant properties. It is necessary to know about vitamin E toxicity symptoms though vitamin E toxicity is very rare. Here follows the required information.

Vitamin E Toxicity Symptoms

Vitamin E deficiency is common in people residing in developing countries. In developed countries, deficiency of vitamin E is attributed to fat malabsorption. Vitamin E deficiency can seriously affect the health of red blood cells and it can also result in degeneration of neurons. Hemolytic anemia and neurological deficits are some of the major symptoms of vitamin E deficiency. To treat this kind of deficiency, high doses of vitamin E are recommended. Vitamin E deficiencies in premature babies, infants and children can result in serious health complications. So infants or children are also administered vitamin E doses. Such patients are more likely to experience vitamin E side effects. The body tends to store vitamin E in fatty tissues which in turn leads to vitamin E toxicity.

As a result of vitamin E overdose, you may experience muscle weakness, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, etc. You may suffer from diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain, bloating, etc. Overdose of vitamin E increases the chances of internal bleeding. People may experience blurred vision due to vitamin E toxicity. Long term and excessive consumption of vitamin E can weaken your immune system. It can lead to heart problems like congestive heart disease, mental disorders, chronic diarrhea, and even brain hemorrhage. Excessive consumption of vitamin E increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke and premature death. Vitamin E can affect the process of absorption of vitamins A and K.

Vitamin E Toxicity Levels

Adults are many times advised to take large doses of vitamin E (á-tocopherol 400 to 800 mg/day) for months to years. They usually do not notice any harm. Bleeding is noticed when vitamin E dose is more than 1000 mg/day or when the patient takes oral coumarin or warfarin. Thus, for adults aged 19 years or more, vitamin E toxicity level is 1000 mg for any form of á-tocopherol.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin E is 15 mg/day. The tolerable Upper-intake Level (UL) of any alpha-tocopherol form is said to be 1000 mg/day. This means, vitamin E consumption equal to 1000 mg/day is not likely to cause any serious side effects. A healthy adult can even tolerate up to 1600 IU of vitamin E. Though the person taking 1600 IU of vitamin E may experience minimal side effects, more studies are required to confirm that the person won't face any serious side effects in the long run. Some studies suggest that long-term use of vitamin E (400 IU or more) by people diagnosed with chronic diseases can lead to an increase in mortality and an increase in the incidences of heart failure. Therefore, a UL of 1000 mg/d can also be considered as too high for such people. It is very difficult to establish an acute toxic dose for vitamin E. Vitamin E toxicity in children depends mainly upon the age and overall health. Take a look at the following table to know about the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E to understand vitamin E toxicity levels.

Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin E

Recommended Vitamin E Allowance
Description	Desired Level	For Whom
Recommended daily allowance	15 mg (22.5 IU)	Adults, pregnant women
Recommended daily allowance	19 mg (28.5 IU)	Lactating women
Recommended daily allowance	7 mg (10.5 IU)	Children between 4-8 years
Recommended daily allowance	6 mg (9 IU)	Children between 1-3 years

Vitamin E supplements usually contain 100-1000 IU per capsule. The normal upper tolerable limit for vitamin E intake is 1,000 mg (1,500 IU) per day. Vitamin E obtained through vitamin E rich foods does not cause toxicity. To avoid vitamin E toxicity, you should consult your physician before opting for vitamin E supplements.