An overdose of Vitamin E can kill!

Internal bleeding is a real risk and so are the rest of these health problems due to excess vitamin E.

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No one can ever think that the humble vitamins and minerals could in any way be detrimental to one s health. But the truth is they are not always good especially when taken in excess. For instance, vitamin E a favourite among many, especially women, for its many skin and hair benefits, can be fatal (for some) when taken in excess. However, for a healthy individual excess of vitamin E might do no harm, but for people with certain lifestyle diseases and chronic conditions exercising precaution is always better. However, here are 10 reasons why vitamin E is actually good for you.

Vitamin E is an essential vitamin that helps to reduce oxidative stress, i.e., the antioxidants in the vitamin protect the cells from the damaging effects of free radicals in the body. It also improves immunity and keeps your heart and liver healthy among the other functions. Vitamin E can be obtained through diet or supplements easily available over-the-counter. Excess of vitamin E through diet isn t harmful, but if you are on supplementation keeping a tab on it is better. Here is why vitamin E keeps you young and healthy.

Here is how excess vitamin E supplement can affect your health:

It can lead to internal bleeding: Vitamin E does have an anticoagulant factor and can interfere with the body s ability to coagulate blood. It is more dangerous for people who have been prescribed blood thinners to take vitamin E supplements simultaneously. This could lead to internal bleeding or haemorrhage. Here are eight reasons why you should not ignore unwanted bruises in your body.

It can lead to a stroke: For the same reason, one might also be at a risk to suffer from a stroke due to haemorrhage in the brain. Here are seven signs of stroke that you should never ignore.

It could cause premature death: Well, you cannot blame vitamin E alone for premature death. But when combined with other antioxidants used for prevention of diseases, it increases the risk of mortality significantly.

It increases chances of prostate cancer: A Finnish study showed that supplementation of vitamin E and beta-carotene, when given to prevent lung cancer in smokers, increased chances of prostate cancer in them. Another trial pointed out that having an excess of vitamin E significantly increased the chances of prostate cancer in healthy men. Here are six symptoms of prostate cancer that every man should know.

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References:

1: Klein EA, Thompson IM Jr, Tangen CM, Crowley JJ, Lucia MS, Goodman PJ, Minasian LM, Ford LG, Parnes HL, Gaziano JM, Karp DD, Lieber MM, Walther PJ,Klotz L, Parsons JK, Chin JL, Darke AK, Lippman SM, Goodman GE, Meyskens FL Jr,Baker LH. Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). JAMA. 2011 Oct 12;306(14):1549-56. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1437. PubMed PMID: 21990298; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4169010.

1: Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C. Mortality in randomized trials of antioxidant supplements for primary and secondaryprevention: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2007 Feb 28;297(8):842-57.Review. Erratum in: JAMA. 2008 Feb 20;299(7):765-6. PubMed PMID: 17327526.