I was advised to take 1000mg. of Vit E. on a daily basis to aid in muscle repair, now I understand that the reconmended dose has dropped to 400mg. daily. And that a 1000mg daily dose could possibby even be harmfull.
Any ideas from the medically educated?
Thanks - Henk
Call a sports med guy and ask. And drink at least a gallon of water a day and your body will get rid of what it doesn’t need naturally. It will regulate itself.
Vitamin E is fat soluble, so the amount of water you drink will have no effect on absorbtion, but you should still drink a gallon a day, along with some healthy fat, monounsaturated like olive oil.
tommy
All fat solubles vitamins (such as vit. A and E) are more easily retained by the body. That is why they can have harmful side effects. The fat soluble is absorbed into the lymph and transported to the liver. It is stored in the fatty tissues, heart, muscles, testes, uterus. blood, and adrenal and pituitary glands. Excessive amounts of Vitamin E is excreted in the urine but requires about 3 days for excesses to be eliminated from the body. That time delay is also why you don’t want to take them in excess. Drinking water will only have a more emmidiate effect on the water soluable vitamins.
The general rule of thumb is this… take fat soluable vitamins at before bedtime and take water soluable vitamins in the morning. For some reason, fat soluables are more easily absorbed without activity. Also, it is advised not to take iron and vitamin E at the same time. The two interfere with each others absorbsion.
Can you overdose on fat soluable vitamins. The simple answer is - Yes. Are you likely to overdose? The simple answer is - No. Provided you use common sense. And, you do not have high blood pressure or rheumantic heart disease.
How much vitamin E you should take is a more complex answer than what it seems on the surface. But, the short answer is this (and, it’s not really a good answer):
The daily intake of vit. E is based upon the metabolic body size and level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet rather than upon weight or calorie intake. It has been suggested that men start with 100 IU and gradually increase to 600 IU when used for theraputive purposes. For women, they should begin with about 100 IU and gradually increase to 400 IU. It is best to begin with small doses then gradually increase the doses. That being said, if you eat a healthy diet… the need for vitamin E supplements on a regular basis is not likely necessary.
As for muscle repair, the faster, best and most effective way to accomplish this is through rest -period.
FWIW Joe Moya
great response, thanks.
here is my problem associated with A and E.
I develope an allergy agains the chlorine in swimming pools. Now, the nutrition specialist told me to take 50000 IU of vitamin A for a view weeks and then decrease to 35000 IU.
crazzy, dangerous?
The all in one daily vitamin pill I take has 18’000 IU of vitamin A.
crazzy, dangerous, stupid?
Medline has a bunch of articles that say, more than 8000 IU a day could be dangerous.
any thoughts?
And while we are at it. Anybody ever had or has a chlorine allergy and know what to do?
Henk,
Keep in mind that RDA’s are typically the suggested minimal intake for general health and do not reflect amounts that would confer any extra advantage (aid in muscle repair). Unfortunately, upper limits are seldom given.
As for Vit. E, it is “considered to be non-toxic in very large amounts.” (study in the J. of Sports Med). Of course, they didn’t say what they considered very large amounts (those darned exercise physiologists). I, personally don’t consider 1000 too high, though most studies I’ve read use a dosage of 400. Personally, I take a 600 in addition to the 400 I get from my multi-vitamin (taken at separate times).
I believe you can get the results you’re looking for with 400. However, the BEST RECOMENDATION I can give you is to take the E in conjunction with Vit. C. Numerous studies have shown that the two complement each other in their antioxidant mechanisms when taken together. I take 500 C in addtion to whatever huge amount I get from my multi.
Had not wanted to admit this, but just so you know where the info is coming from - I have PhD in exercise physiology.
Oggie mentions a good point that you have to watch out for. When planning your dosage, you need to consider all sources. As an example, I take supplements totalling 400 IU E, 500mg C, 500mg calcium, and a multivitamin. In addition, I’m getting another 470mg C, 400 IU E, 100mg calcium in the Endurox that I drink post-workout. (double this if you work out twice daily and drink Endurox after each.) If you add in what Clif bars, fortified orange juice, and all other sources have, you could easily exceed the upper limit of one of these if you were at the limit with the supplement alone. It seems that everyone that makes a food or drink for athletes nowadays feels the need to add vitamins and supplements to it.
Are we talking about vit. A or E? Vitamin A has higher levels of acceptable limts than Vit. E. The reason is because Vit. A is not converted at efficiently as Vit. E. The recomended dietary allowance of Vit. A is 4000-5000 IU for adults. However, research seems to indicate that no more than 50,000 IU per day can be utilized by the body except in theraputic cases, where up to 100,000 IU of Vit. A have been used. There are those who suggest the best levels are in the 25,000 to 50,000 IU. If there is no vitamin deficiency, daily use of 50,000 UY may be toxic. dosages of 18,500 given daily for 1-3 months have also been reported as toxic for infants or those who have serious overall vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin C can help prevent the harmful side effect of high Vit. A. dosages.
As you can see, the acceptable dosages of Vit. A and E are very different. While doses of vit. E have been reported as high as 2000 IU, they are usually done within the context of a controlled situation and monitored by a medical professional.
Now, you left out a little (but important detail) in your first post… your having allergic reactions to Chlorine. What kind of reaction? Is is sinus related or is it skin irritation? Which leads me to next question. Were you referring to oral use of Vit. A and/or E? Or, were you asking about topical application of Vit. A and/or E?
If your referring to using Vit. A and/or E for a sinus reaction to chlorine, then I know of no research that indicates they will be useful. My solution to chlorine (sinus) allergy is call a nose clip. Simple, but effective.
If your having skin reactions to Chlorine then perhaps Vit. A and E may have a positive effect. Itching skin (and dry skin) are useally helped by topical versions of Unsaturated fatty acids. Typically, topical application of Vit. A and E are more tolerant of higher IU amounts.
FWIW Joe Moya