too much Vitamin E?
 

I hope this is the right place to ask this question . . . I have been tracking what I eat with FitDay, and just today I was looking at my nutrition report on how much of my RDA I am getting of all the vitamins. I found that apparently on average, in the past month, I have gotten 450% of my RDA of Vitamin E!

I don't know much about vitamins, I know sometimes people say the more the merrier, but 450% seems like an awful lot. I'm getting between 110% and 295% of my other vitamins and minerals apparently on average, mostly around 150% (the 295% is riboflavin), and the only things I am under the RDA on are magnesium and zinc.

So I guess my questions are . . . Can you overdose on Vitamin E? What am I eating that is giving me so much of it? Is this dangerous? Is it safe to have 200% of my other vitamins and minerals?

You don't say whether the vitamin totals include supplements or not, or what type, and how the % translates to IUs. But, here's what Dr. Andrew Weil has to say:

Recent studies have shown that Vitamin E can be dangerous and many experts no longer recommend taking any in supplement form. Some of the studies I've read caused me to toss out my bottle.

A study published last year showed that high doses (400mg) increased chances of dying, while 200mg daily did not have any effect. The RDA is just 10mg.

Berkeley Wellness (University of CA) said
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/ds/dsVitaminE.php

Hi Suzanne:

The quote from Dr. Weil came from this question about the earlier of the two studies:
http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA346547/

There is another post about the latest study:
http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA352339/

I think his arguments make sense. Not that I take vitamin e other than as part of my multi, but Dr. Weil's analysis points out that the conclusions drawn (especially in the media) may be overreaching.

Dr. Roizen, author of The RealAge Makeover and You: The Owner's Manual, recommends still recommends 400 IU of Vitamin E. in addition to eating a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. He says that "taken together, vitamins C & E keep your cardiovascular system healthy by reducing the amount of harmful buildup (plaque) on the walls of your arteries."

I take a multivitamin sometimes (I try to every day but lately it has been every three days or so), which says it has 33 IU (110%) of Vitamin E. But in order to have 450% of the RDA of Vitamin E, that means that I still ate 340% of the RDA in my food, right?

FitDay says that the RDA of Vitamin E is 8 mg_ATE (whatever that means) and that I take in on average 36 mg_ATE. It also says that my multivitamin provides 650% of the RDA, whereas the multivitamin information says 110%.

I'm starting to think that this is a bug in FitDay, not that I'm eating too much Vitamin E. I entered in my multivitamin as a custom food, and wrote 110% for vitamin E, but when I put the vitamin as the only thing I ate for the day and look at the nutrition report, it says it is 650% of the RDA.

I am so confused! I don't even know what foods have Vitamin E.