Vitamin E: What It Does, Foods, How Much a Day, Natural vs Synthetic and Skin (UK)

What is vitamin E?

Vitamin E is the name for 8 related fat-soluble compounds: 4 tocopherols and 4 tocotrienols. Alpha-tocopherol is the only form the body keeps in meaningful amounts, so it is the one used to set daily needs and labels. Like other fat-soluble vitamins, it is absorbed with dietary fat and stored in the liver and fatty tissue.

The NHS says you should be able to get all the vitamin E you need from your diet.

What does vitamin E do?

Vitamin E’s main job is as an antioxidant in cell membranes. It sits in the fatty outer layer of every cell and stops chain reactions that damage fats there. The one authorised health claim for vitamin E in Great Britain is that vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

What is oxidative stress?

Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidants that neutralise them. Free radicals are unstable molecules made during normal energy production, and also by smoking, pollution and UV light. When there are too many, they can damage the fats, proteins and DNA in cells. Vitamin E’s authorised claim describes its part in that protection.

Some oxidative stress is normal, as the body uses free radicals to fight infection, which may be one reason high-dose antioxidant supplements have disappointed in trials. Vitamin C, selenium and zinc also have authorised claims about protecting cells from oxidative stress; see our guides to vitamin C and zinc.

How much vitamin E do you need a day?

The NHS says adults need 4mg of vitamin E a day (men) or 3mg (women), and a varied diet with plant oils, nuts and seeds provides that. Supplement labels use an NRV of 12mg. The NHS says 540mg (800 IU) or less a day from supplements is unlikely to cause harm; EFSA’s adult upper limit is 300mg a day.

• Why the figures differ: NHS amounts are UK needs, EFSA’s are adequate intakes, and the NRV is a labelling figure.
• Upper limits: EFSA reviewed its 300mg limit in 2024 and kept it, based on the risk of bleeding. It says the limit doesn’t apply to people on blood thinners or aspirin, for whom lower amounts may be a concern.
• Count every product: multivitamins, skin and hair supplements and some omega-3 capsules contain vitamin E. See are multivitamins worth taking? and can you overdose on vitamins?

Which foods are high in vitamin E?

The foods highest in vitamin E are wheatgerm oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, sunflower oil and hazelnuts. A 28g handful of almonds or sunflower seeds gives about 7mg, more than the NHS daily need for men or women. Rapeseed and olive oil, peanuts, spinach, broccoli and kiwi add smaller amounts.

Figures are rounded from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements food table. Because vitamin E comes with fat, nuts and seeds are an easy everyday source; see our guide to natural supplements and food first.

Natural vs synthetic vitamin E: d-alpha vs dl-alpha

Natural vitamin E is labelled d-alpha-tocopherol (or RRR-alpha-tocopherol); synthetic vitamin E is dl-alpha-tocopherol (all-rac). The synthetic form is a mix of 8 versions of the molecule, only half of which the body uses well, so it is about half as active. That’s why an IU of each converts to a different number of milligrams.

• Acetate and succinate: “tocopheryl acetate” or “succinate” is a more stable ester form used in capsules and creams; the d- or dl- prefix still tells you whether it is natural or synthetic.
• UK labels: most show milligrams and %NRV; IU is common on US-made products. The NHS figure of 540mg is the same as 800 IU of natural vitamin E.

Do vitamin E supplements work?

Large trials found that vitamin E supplements didn’t prevent heart disease or cancer in well-nourished adults, and high doses raised some risks. For most people, food provides enough. The one big positive result is in a specific eye condition, where vitamin E was part of a prescribed combination.

If you have macular degeneration, the eye supplement question is one for your optician or eye clinic. For dry, tired eyes, see dry eyes. If your interest is heart health, see our omega-3 guide and CoQ10 guide, which cover those trials honestly too.

Is vitamin E oil good for your skin?

Vitamin E oil is a thick moisturising oil, and tocopherol is a common antioxidant ingredient in creams, where it also stops other oils going off. It can help soften very dry patches, but a trial found vitamin E didn’t improve scars and caused a rash in a third of users. Patch test first, and avoid broken skin.

• Patch test: put a little on the inside of your arm and wait 48 hours before using it on your face.
• Scars and stretch marks: the evidence doesn’t support vitamin E oil for either.
• Never inhale it: vitamin E acetate added to illegal THC vape cartridges was strongly linked to the US EVALI lung injury outbreak in 2019. See can you vape CBD oil?

For everyday skin care, see dry skin: causes and what helps, CBD for skin and collagen supplements. For hair, see the best supplements for hair growth.

Vitamin E deficiency: who is at risk?

Vitamin E deficiency is rare in healthy adults and almost never caused by diet alone. It mostly affects people who can’t absorb fat properly, babies born very early and people with a rare inherited condition. Over time it can damage nerves and muscles, causing numbness, poor balance and coordination, muscle weakness and eyesight problems.

• Higher-risk conditions: cystic fibrosis, Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, chronic pancreatitis, some liver diseases and after some weight-loss surgery.
• Diagnosis: a GP can arrange a blood test. Treatment is prescribed and monitored, so don’t self-treat with high doses.
• Similar symptoms: numbness and tingling have many causes, including low B12; see vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms and peripheral neuropathy.

Vitamin E with blood thinners and other medicines

High-dose vitamin E can thin the blood slightly, so it may add to the effect of anticoagulants and antiplatelet medicines and raise the risk of bleeding. EFSA says its 300mg upper limit doesn’t apply to people taking these medicines.

• Warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban, dabigatran, aspirin or clopidogrel: speak to your GP, pharmacist or anticoagulant clinic before taking any vitamin E supplement, including multivitamins with high amounts.
• Before surgery: tell the team about every supplement you take.
• Cancer treatment: high-dose antioxidants may interfere with some chemotherapy and radiotherapy, so ask your oncology team first.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: don’t take high-dose vitamin E; ask your midwife or GP which supplements you need.

If you take warfarin, vitamin K matters too; see vitamin K2 and warfarin.