I have halted taking Vitamin E due to the dosage on the bottle stating "400 IU" I have been reading that a normal daily dosage for an adult is around 15 to 22 IU daily. If this is true how come the IU dosage is as high as it is?

I started taking vitamin C and will be taking ALA shortly. I also contacted a local health store that can order a few items for detox and they also have a free mercury testing kit. Probably wouldn't hurt to recheck to see what levels I have more mercury.

400 IU of vitamin E is a very large dose. Vitamin E is a potent anticoagulant and large doses must be used with care. When I used to take vitamin E 400 IU years ago, I had nosebleeds. I now either take no vitamin E supplementation, or perhaps around 100 IU a day or so that is in a multivitamin. If you feel you don't get enough vitamin E in your diet, then perhaps take 100 IU a day.

Some supplements are safe to take at many times the RDA, while others aren't. Vitamin c is one supplement that is safe at high dosages if you use a buffered form. If you take too much vitamin c, you might get diarrea, then you know you need to cut back.
I take 2-3 grams a day of vitamin c, while others here take even more.

The latest research (and some publicly discounted early research) shows information related to the formerly-believed dangers of vitamin E to be untrue, although it has been believed to be true by the public and by many doctors for many years due to mainstream disinformation.

Here is a link to some of it: Vitamin E

Historically, experts theorized that vitamin E would increase the effects of warfarin (Coumadin) by causing a deficiency of vitamin K—a fat-soluble vitamin responsible for blood clotting. However, in a recent double-blind clinical trial of 21 patients on chronic warfarin therapy, no significant effect on prothrombin times (a test that measures the clotting time of blood) was observed when 800-1200mg of vitamin E per day was given. Researchers concluded that "it appears that vitamin E can safely be given to patients who require chronic warfarin therapy.“8,25,26


Vitamin E is a powerful brain antioxidant and I have been taking 3 to 5 per day—that's 1200IU to 2000IU per day—for years.

I consider it a fundamental requirement for mercury toxic persons.

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8 Ford-Martin, P. "Vitamin E.“ Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine.<http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2603/0007/2603000729/p1/article.jhtml>. Accessed April 2004.

25 Swain, R.A. & Kaplan-Machlis, B. "Therapeutic uses of vitamin E in prevention of atherosclerosis.“ Alternative Medicine Review; 1999, 4(6):414-423.

26 Kim, J.M. & White, R.H. "Effect of vitamin E on the anticoagulant response to warfarin.“ American Journal of Cardiology; 1996, 77(7):545-546.

Vitamin E has been shown to be safe and free from any adverse side-effects in multiple studies, even in dosages of 1200 IU daily.

See:

The safety of high-dose vitamin E supplementation in healthy Japanese male adults.

...a high dose of vitamin E for 28 d [1,200 IU] had no adverse effects in healthy men.

Assessment of the safety of supplem...ts of vitamin E in healthy older adults.

...4 mo of supplementation with 60-800 IU vitamin E/d had no adverse effects.

Assessment of the safety of high-do... with vitamin E in healthy older adults.

...short-term supplementation with 800 mg vitamin E/d has no adverse effect on healthy older adults.

Russ, if you can tolerate so much vitamin E that is good, however I suggest that people be careful when taking it, and start out at a small dose and then perhaps raise it slowly, but cut back on the first sign of nosebleeds, blood in the stool, or long clotting times when one gets a cut. I guess I could probably take up to 200 IU a day of vitamin E supplements a day safely enough, however I am afraid to get back to the 400 IU or higher dosage level. Perhaps I should be taking 200 IU a day of vitamin E?

While vitamin E itself in somewhat larger doses might not be so dangerous, many here are taking high doses of vitamin c which also has an anticoagulant effect, as well as herbs such as

Alfalfa Coumarin constituants
Angelica Coumarin constituants
Aniseed Coumarin constituants
Arnica Coumarin constituants
Asafoetida Coumarin constituants, anticoagulant in vivo
Celery Coumarin constituants
Chamomile, German Coumarin constituants
Chamomile, Roman Coumarin constituants
Clove Eugenol powerful inhibitor of platelet activity
Fenugreek Coumarin constituants
Feverfew Inhibits platelet aggregation
Fucus Anticoagulant action
Garlic Interaction with warfarin reported
Ginger Inhibition of platelet activity
Ginkgo Inhibition of platelet activity
Ginseng, Panax Reduction of blood coagulation
Horse-chestnut Coumarin constituants
Horseradish Peroxidase stimulates synthesis of arachidonic acid metabolites
Liquorice Inhibition of platelet activity
Meadowsweet Salicylate constituents
Poplar Salicylate constituents
Prickly ash, northern Coumarin constituants
Prickly ash, southern Coumarin constituants
Quassia Coumarin constituants
Red clover Coumarin constituants
Willow

which have an anticoagulant effect.

http://www.uptodate.com/online/cont...ico7.htm&title=Anticoagulant%20herbs



which also act as an anticoagulant. The effect of all the supplements together might be great. While my experience of nosebleeds on 400 IU a day of vitamin E might not be typical, I still say that people should not load up so much on vitamin E. I don't really see any great benefit for most people to take over 200 IU a day of vitamin E.



"Recent concerns have been raised about the safety of vitamin E supplementation, particularly in high doses. An increased risk of bleeding has been proposed, particularly in patients taking blood-thinning agents such as warfarin, heparin, or aspirin, and in patients with vitamin K deficiency. Recent evidence suggests that regular use of high-dose vitamin E supplements may increase the risk of death (from "all causes") by a small amount, although a different study found no effects on mortality in women who took vitamin E daily. Caution is warranted. "

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-e/ns_patient-vitamine

Make sure you take Vitamin E with it's co factors too and not the synthetic form which can actually make you deficient believe it or not! Dry form might be tolerable as well. I like a product called Unique E, you can use that or now foods E with it's co factors which is cheaper but GMO free as well. Vitamin E is needed though, especially for us.