Vitamin E and Selenium Together: What to Know

Quick answer

Selenium and vitamin E are both described by NIH as antioxidant nutrients, and some products pair them. Adults need 55 mcg of selenium and 15 mg of vitamin E a day. The largest trial of the pair, in 35,533 men, found that neither supplement alone nor both together lowered the rate of the condition studied.^1,2,3

Key facts

Adults need 55 mcg of selenium and 15 mg of vitamin E a day. Products that pair selenium with vitamin E usually have 50 to 200 mcg of selenium.^1,2,4
The adult upper limits are 400 mcg of selenium a day and 1,000 mg of vitamin E from supplements, which is set because of bleeding.^1,2
Vitamin E is absorbed better with fat: about 10% of a dose with a fat-free breakfast, 33% when 21% of the breakfast's calories came from fat.⁵
In SELECT, 35,533 men took 200 mcg of selenium, 400 IU of vitamin E, both or placebo, and neither supplement alone nor both together lowered the rate of the condition studied.^3,4
Supplements do not seem to raise selenoprotein P or glutathione peroxidase unless a person is short of selenium, and large vitamin E trials have not shown routine long-term benefits.^4,6

Why selenium and vitamin E are paired

The pairing comes from chemistry. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant: it stops the production of reactive oxygen species formed when fat is oxidized, which happens as the body turns food into energy and when it is exposed to smoke, pollution or ultraviolet light. Selenium works from the inside of enzymes. It is part of glutathione peroxidases and thioredoxin reductases, selenoproteins that protect cells from oxidative damage.^4,6

Putting the two in one product follows from that shared subject. It is a similarity of role, not evidence that one makes the other work better, and we found no trial that tested the pair for absorption or for any measured effect beyond the one large trial covered in the safety section.^4,6

Many multivitamins contain 55 mcg of selenium. Products that pair selenium with vitamin E or a few other ingredients usually have 50 to 200 mcg, and selenium-only supplements 100 to 400 mcg.⁴

What each is graded for

Our ingredient files grade the antioxidant statements for each, with a note on how far the evidence goes. Both describe a normal function of getting enough, not a measured benefit of extra.^4,6

Contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress*^1,4,7

Moderate evidence

Glutathione peroxidases and thioredoxin reductases, two families of selenoproteins, protect cells from oxidative damage, and NIH lists protecting cells among the reasons the body needs selenium. More selenium does not seem to add more of this protection: in adults who were not short of selenium, about 200 to 600 mcg a day for 16 weeks did not raise glutathione peroxidase activity or selenoprotein P.

Amount studied: Recommended intake of 55 mcg a day for adults, from food and supplements

Helps protect cells from oxidative stress*^2,6,8

Moderate evidence

This is a well-established nutrient function. NIH describes vitamin E as a fat-soluble antioxidant that stops the production of reactive oxygen species when fat is oxidized, and EU regulators permit the statement that vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress for foods that are at least a source of it. It describes a normal function, not a measured health outcome. Large trials of high-dose vitamin E supplements did not show the long-term health benefits that were hoped for.

Amount studied: The recommended intake: 15 mg a day for adults, from food and supplements together

Best time to take selenium and vitamin E

Vitamin E is the fussier of the two. As a fat-soluble vitamin it needs fat in the meal. In a study of 5 adults, about 10% of a dose was absorbed with a fat-free breakfast, 20% when 6% of the breakfast's calories came from fat and 33% when 21% did. A one-week study found that a low-fat hot meal with 3 g of fat raised blood vitamin E about as much as one with 36 g, so a little fat may be enough.^5,9

Selenium is less sensitive. In the one timing study, a light breakfast had little effect on how much was absorbed. NIH names no hour of the day for either nutrient, so a meal with a little fat is the practical default for the pair.^6,10

Taken every day, large doses of synthetic vitamin E brought blood levels to a steady state within 4 to 5 days, and levels returned to where they started 12 to 20 days after stopping.¹¹

Adding up the amounts

Selenium and vitamin E for adults, per day^1,2,3,4,6
	Selenium	Vitamin E
Recommended amount	55 mcg	15 mg
Upper limit	400 mcg from food, drinks and supplements	1,000 mg from supplements; food needs no limit
Typical supplement	Selenium-only 100 to 400 mcg; with vitamin E 50 to 200 mcg	A multivitamin about 13.5 mg; vitamin E alone 67 mg or more
Amount used in the large trial	200 mcg a day	400 IU (180 mg) of synthetic vitamin E a day
Label conversion	None needed	1 IU of natural vitamin E is 0.67 mg, of synthetic 0.45 mg

What’s in ours

Men's Multi: Selenium, 30 mcg per serving, from the label

What’s in ours

Men's Multi: Vitamin E, 13.5 mg per serving, from the label
Immune Support: Vitamin E, 15 mg per serving, from the label

Our Men's Multi contains both nutrients, and another of our products also has vitamin E, without selenium. Neither comes anywhere near the amounts used in the large trial. The cards show the label amounts.

What the large trial found, and who should ask first

The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial, known as SELECT, is the largest study of these two together. It gave 35,533 men 200 mcg of selenium, 400 IU of vitamin E, both or placebo, to see whether they would lower the risk of prostate cancer. They did not, in the first report. In the longer follow-up, men who took vitamin E alone had 17% more prostate cancer than men on placebo, while the increases in the selenium group and the combination group were not statistically significant.^3,12

In the SELECT trial of 35,533 healthy men aged 50 and over, those who had taken 400 IU (180 mg) of synthetic vitamin E a day had a 17% higher risk of prostate cancer than men on placebo, a difference that showed up with 1.5 years of extra follow-up.^2,6

In SELECT, a trial in 35,533 men aged 50 and over, 200 mcg a day did not lower the risk of prostate cancer. In men whose selenium levels were already high, supplements were linked with more high-grade prostate cancer, and the researchers advised men over 55 to avoid selenium supplements above recommended intakes.⁴

High doses of vitamin E supplements might increase the risk of bleeding, by reducing the blood's ability to clot after a cut or injury, and NIH says taking large doses with an anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicine such as warfarin can increase that risk. Selenium has its own medicine caution: cisplatin, a chemotherapy medicine, can lower selenium levels in the blood and hair.^2,4,6

Ask first if you are a man over 55 and thinking of taking more than the recommended amount of either nutrient, since SELECT raised these questions for men in that age range.^4,6
Ask first if you take a blood thinner such as warfarin, or an antiplatelet medicine, or have a bleeding disorder.⁶
Ask first if you are having chemotherapy or radiotherapy. NIH names vitamin E with both, and selenium with the chemotherapy medicine cisplatin.^4,6
Ask first if you have a thyroid condition or take thyroid medicine, or have kidney disease.⁴
Ask first if you are considering vitamin E of 400 IU a day or more, or are pregnant or breastfeeding and considering more than a multivitamin contains.⁶

Questions people ask

Can you take selenium with vitamin E?

The NIH sheets for the two nutrients describe no effect of one on the other, and they are sold together in some products. The questions that matter are the amounts, since high vitamin E carries a bleeding caution, and the SELECT results for men over 55.^4,6

What is the best time to take selenium and vitamin E?

NIH names no hour. Vitamin E is absorbed better when the meal contains fat, and a light breakfast had little effect on selenium absorption in the one study we found.^5,10

Do selenium and vitamin E work better together?

Our sources do not say so. The large SELECT trial gave them together and found no lower rate of the condition it studied, and NIH notes that supplements do not seem to raise selenoproteins unless a person is short of selenium.^3,4

What did the SELECT trial find about vitamin E?

After longer follow-up, men who took 400 IU of vitamin E a day had 17% more prostate cancer than men on placebo. Men who took selenium or both had smaller increases that were not statistically significant.¹²

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Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.