Vitamin E

Studies in people

• Concern

  Wheeze and asthma link³

  In children, only circulating α-tocopherol was consistently linked to wheeze or asthma; other vitamin E results were less certain.

• No harm found

  Heart health⁴

  Large studies in people do not support taking vitamin E supplements to protect against heart disease.

• Benefit

  Memory in older adults⁵

  In older people, vitamin E taken with fish oil and carotenoids for two years meant fewer working memory errors.

• Concern

  Prostate cancer risk⁶

  In men, taking vitamin E supplements was linked to more cases of prostate cancer.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Memory and thinking in later life⁸

  Vitamin E may slow decline in mild to moderate Alzheimer's, but we don't know if it helps prevent it.

How it’s made and used

• nutrient uptake from additives²

  Vitamin E TPGS is poorly absorbed and does not act as a source of Vitamin E in healthy people.

• Forms the body keeps⁷

  Vitamin E comes in eight forms, but the body mainly keeps and uses alpha-tocopherol.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.