Vitamin A vs Vitamin E: Key Differences

Quick answer

Vitamin A and vitamin E both dissolve in fat but do different jobs. Adults need 700 to 900 mcg RAE of vitamin A and 15 mg of vitamin E a day. Upper limits: 3,000 mcg a day of preformed vitamin A from all sources, and 1,000 mg a day of vitamin E from supplements.^1,2

Key facts

Vitamin A is tied to vision, normal skin and mucous membranes, immune function and iron metabolism in the EU list, while vitamin E has one statement, on protecting cells from oxidative stress.^3,4
Vitamin E is a group of eight related compounds, and only alpha-tocopherol is recognized to meet human needs. Vitamin A comes as preformed retinol or as provitamin A carotenoids such as beta-carotene.^1,2
The share of a vitamin E dose absorbed was about 10% with a fat-free breakfast and 33% with a breakfast that was 21% fat by calories.⁵
Multivitamins commonly carry 750 to 1,050 mcg RAE of vitamin A and about 13.5 mg of vitamin E, while vitamin E-only supplements often hold 67 mg or more.^1,2

What they share: dietary fat

Both vitamins dissolve in fat rather than water, which sets how they are absorbed. NIH says the digestive tract needs fat to absorb vitamin E, and all forms of vitamin A are first dissolved into micelles, tiny fat-based particles, before the cells lining the small intestine take them up.^1,2

Vitamin A is fat soluble. In the gut, all of its forms are dissolved into micelles before the cells lining the upper small intestine absorb them.¹

In a study of 5 adults, the share of a labeled vitamin E dose absorbed was about 10% with a fat-free breakfast, 20% when 6% of the breakfast's calories came from fat, and 33% when 21% did.⁵

In a one-week study, beta-carotene and alpha-carotene from a supplement raised blood levels as much when taken with a meal containing 3 g of fat as with 36 g.⁶

Put together, the meal does not have to be rich. A fat-free breakfast gave poor vitamin E absorption, but a hot meal with only 3 g of fat did about as well as one with 36 g in a one-week study that also covered carotenes. Orlistat is the exception to be aware of, because its label reports lower absorption of a vitamin E supplement and of a beta-carotene supplement.^5,7,8

The orlistat label says orlistat cut the absorption of a vitamin E acetate supplement by about 60%. It tells people taking orlistat to take a multivitamin with fat-soluble vitamins at least 2 hours before or after it, such as at bedtime.⁹

Do they affect each other's uptake?

Fat-soluble vitamins are thought to share part of the machinery that takes them into gut cells, so researchers have tested whether they compete. In mouse intestine, vitamin A was absorbed mostly in the upper small intestine and vitamin E further down. In human gut cells grown in the laboratory, vitamin A lowered the uptake of vitamin E, while vitamin E raised the uptake of vitamin A.¹⁰

That is a study of mice and cells in a dish. It shows the two vitamins can influence each other at the gut wall in the laboratory. It does not show what happens with a capsule in a person, and neither NIH fact sheet describes the effect.^1,2

What each one does

The EU list is lopsided: it carries several statements for vitamin A and a single one for vitamin E. That reflects what regulators have accepted, and it is not a ranking of importance. The statements are quoted with their grades.^3,4

Contributes to the maintenance of normal vision*^1,3,11

Moderate evidence

A long-established role of the vitamin. NIH describes vitamin A as an essential part of rhodopsin, the light-sensitive protein in the retina, and as needed for the normal working of the cornea and the membranes that cover the eye. The EU list of permitted nutrient-function statements, based on reviews by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), includes this wording for foods that are at least a source of vitamin A. It describes what getting enough does; it is not a finding that extra vitamin A changes eyesight in people who already get enough.

Amount studied: The recommended intake: 900 mcg RAE a day for men and 700 mcg RAE for women, from food and supplements together

Contributes to the maintenance of normal skin and mucous membranes*^1,3

Moderate evidence

Both are on the EU list of permitted nutrient-function statements for vitamin A, after EFSA review, and NIH describes vitamin A's role in normal cell growth and specialization. They are about getting enough. They are not evidence that extra vitamin A from supplements changes how skin looks, and regular high intakes of preformed vitamin A can dry the skin. Retinoid creams and prescription retinoids are different products and are not covered by these statements.

Amount studied: The recommended intake: 900 mcg RAE a day for men and 700 mcg RAE for women, from food and supplements together

Contributes to the normal function of the immune system*^1,3

Moderate evidence

NIH describes vitamin A as involved in immune function, and the EU permits this wording, after EFSA review, for foods that are at least a source of vitamin A. The illness research NIH summarizes was done in young children in low-income countries who were short of vitamin A, so it does not show that extra vitamin A helps well-fed adults. The statement is about getting enough.

Amount studied: The recommended intake: 900 mcg RAE a day for men and 700 mcg RAE for women, from food and supplements together

Helps protect cells from oxidative stress*^2,4,12

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

Vitamin A and vitamin E side by side

Vitamin A and vitamin E compared for adults^1,2,12
Question	Vitamin A	Vitamin E
Kinds	Preformed (retinol, retinyl esters) and provitamin A carotenoids	Eight compounds: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols
Form that counts	Retinol, or beta-carotene converted to it	Alpha-tocopherol
Unit on labels	mcg RAE; older labels use IU	mg; older labels use IU
Recommended a day	900 mcg RAE for men, 700 mcg RAE for women	15 mg
Upper limit, adults	3,000 mcg a day of preformed vitamin A	1,000 mg a day from supplements
What the limit counts	Food, drinks and supplements together	Supplements only; food does not need limiting
In a typical multivitamin	Often 750 to 1,050 mcg RAE	About 13.5 mg
Best-known food sources	Beef liver and other organ meats, fish, eggs, dairy, orange vegetables	Wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, vegetable oils

Reading the label

Both vitamins have label traps that can double or halve the number you think you are taking. For vitamin A, only the preformed share counts toward the upper limit, so a product that also carries beta-carotene counts for less than its headline number. For vitamin E, the natural form is worth twice the synthetic form by weight.^1,2

Natural vitamin E is usually labeled d-alpha-tocopherol and synthetic vitamin E dl-alpha-tocopherol. The synthetic form is half as active by weight, so 1 mg of vitamin E equals 1 mg of the natural form or 2 mg of the synthetic form.^2,12

Labels now list vitamin E in mg. To convert an older IU label, 1 IU of the natural form equals 0.67 mg and 1 IU of the synthetic form equals 0.45 mg; going the other way, 15 mg is 22.4 IU of the natural form or 33.3 IU of the synthetic form.^2,12

Foods that top each list sit in different parts of the kitchen. Beef liver is the richest common source of vitamin A, and oils, nuts and seeds lead for vitamin E.^1,2

Beef liver is the richest common source: 3 ounces, pan fried, has 6,582 mcg RAE, 731% of the Daily Value.¹

Wheat germ oil is the richest common source, with 20.3 mg per tablespoon. Sunflower oil has 5.6 mg and safflower oil 4.6 mg per tablespoon, and corn and soybean oils provide smaller amounts.^2,12

What’s in ours

Men's Multi: Vitamin A, 600 mcg RAE 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

Men's Multi carries both vitamins. Our immune formula carries vitamin E and no vitamin A.

Too much of each: different limits, different reasons

The two upper limits are set against different harms. Vitamin E's limit is set because of the risk of bleeding. Vitamin A's sits beside a longer list that includes abnormal liver tests and, in pregnancy, birth defects, and it counts what you eat as well as what you take.^1,2

The upper limit for preformed vitamin A is 3,000 mcg a day for adults 19 and older, including in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and 2,800 mcg for teens 14 to 18. It counts food, drinks and supplements, and it is lower for children: 600 mcg up to age 3, 900 mcg at 4 to 8 and 1,700 mcg at 9 to 13. The limits do not apply to people taking vitamin A under a doctor's care. No upper limit is set for beta-carotene, but the Food and Nutrition Board advises against beta-carotene supplements for the general population except as a source of vitamin A.^1,11

The upper limit for vitamin E from supplements is 1,000 mg a day for adults, the same as 1,500 IU of the natural form or 1,100 IU of the synthetic form, and it is set because of the risk of bleeding. It is lower for children and teens: 200 mg at ages 1 to 3, 300 mg at 4 to 8, 600 mg at 9 to 13 and 800 mg at 14 to 18. Vitamin E in food does not need to be limited.^2,12

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 of serious bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke).^2,12

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

Vitamin E can slow the clumping of platelets and work against the clotting factors that depend on vitamin K. Taking large doses with an anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicine, such as warfarin, can therefore increase the risk of bleeding, especially when vitamin K intake is low. NIH says the amount needed to cause a clinically significant effect is not known.^2,12

Expected from how the two work, not shown in studies

Both vitamins show up in the same multivitamins, and NIH notes that in a study of 90,771 adults, 10% to 15% of multivitamin users had excessive intakes of vitamin A, iron and zinc. That is a reason to add up every product, not only the single-vitamin ones.¹³

Ask first if you take a blood thinner such as warfarin, an antiplatelet medicine, or have a bleeding disorder, before taking vitamin E in more than multivitamin amounts.¹²
Do not take a supplement with preformed vitamin A if you take isotretinoin. Ask first if you take orlistat, acitretin, bexarotene or another retinoid.¹
Ask first if you are pregnant, could become pregnant or are breastfeeding and want vitamin A or vitamin E beyond a prenatal vitamin or multivitamin.^1,12
Ask first if you smoke, used to smoke or have worked with asbestos, before a supplement with beta-carotene or vitamin A.¹
Ask first about vitamin A if you have a liver condition, and about either vitamin if you have a condition that affects fat absorption, such as Crohn's disease or cystic fibrosis.^1,2

Questions people ask

What is the main difference between vitamin A and vitamin E?

Both dissolve in fat, but their jobs differ. Vitamin A is tied to normal vision, skin and mucous membranes, and the immune system, while vitamin E acts as an antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative stress. Their upper limits and the harms of taking too much differ as well.^1,2

Can you take vitamin A and vitamin E together?

Both are in most multivitamins, and neither NIH fact sheet says one blocks the other. One laboratory study found vitamin E raised the uptake of vitamin A in human gut cells and vitamin A lowered the uptake of vitamin E. That has not been shown in people.^1,2,10

Should vitamin A and vitamin E be taken with food?

They dissolve in fat, so a meal that contains some fat suits both. About 10% of a vitamin E dose was absorbed with a fat-free breakfast against 33% when 21% of the breakfast's calories were fat. A hot meal with 3 g of fat did about as well as one with 36 g in a week-long study.^5,7

What happens if you take too much vitamin A or vitamin E?

Regular high intakes of preformed vitamin A can cause dry skin, aching muscles and joints, tiredness and abnormal liver tests, and too much in pregnancy can cause birth defects. High doses of vitamin E might raise the risk of bleeding, which is why its limit is 1,000 mg a day from supplements.^1,2

See what we make

Every product shows its whole label and what its lab report covers. The store opens soon.

See the Full Measure line Men's Multi Immune Support

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.