Vitamin E vs Vitamin C: Key Differences

Quick answer

Vitamin C dissolves in water and helps regenerate vitamin E, which dissolves in fat. Adults need 75 to 90 mg of vitamin C and 15 mg of vitamin E a day. Upper limits: 2,000 mg a day for vitamin C from all sources, and 1,000 mg a day for vitamin E from supplements.^1,2

Key facts

NIH says vitamin C has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants in the body, including vitamin E.¹
The EU list gives vitamin C statements on collagen formation for normal skin, immune function and iron absorption, and gives vitamin E a single one, on protecting cells from oxidative stress.^3,4
Vitamin E needs dietary fat to be absorbed, while about 70% to 90% of vitamin C is absorbed across intakes of 30 to 180 mg a day.^1,5
Clear signs of too little vitamin E are very rare in healthy people, and most people in the United States get enough vitamin C from food and drink.^2,6
Large randomized trials of vitamin E supplements, mostly in middle-aged and older adults, have not shown that routine use brings long-term health benefits.²

Partners more than rivals

People often set these two against each other, but the best-known fact about them is that they work as a pair. Vitamin E dissolves in fat and vitamin C dissolves in water, and NIH says vitamin C has been shown to regenerate vitamin E in the body.^1,2

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that stops the production of reactive oxygen species formed when fat undergoes oxidation.²

That recycling is a finding about body chemistry. It explains why the two are sold together in antioxidant blends, and it is not evidence that taking both as supplements leads to a health outcome. The large vitamin E trials in the key facts above did not show one.^1,2

What each one does

Vitamin C carries more statements than vitamin E on the EU list, and that matters most for skin. The list has a collagen statement for vitamin C that names skin, and none for vitamin E. The entries are quoted with their grades.^3,4

Helps protect cells from oxidative stress*^2,4,7

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

Contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress*^1,3,6,8

Moderate evidence

A well-established nutrient function. NIH describes vitamin C as an antioxidant that limits damage from free radicals and helps regenerate vitamin E, and EU regulators permit this wording for foods that are at least a source of vitamin C. It describes a normal function, not a measured health outcome: in healthy young women given 30 to 2,500 mg a day, blood and urine markers of the body's own oxidative damage did not change at any dose.

Amount studied: Recommended intake: 75 mg a day for women and 90 mg for men, from food and supplements

Contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, gums, teeth, bones, cartilage and blood vessels*^1,3,9

Moderate evidence

A well-established nutrient function. NIH states that vitamin C is required to make collagen, an essential part of connective tissue, and EU regulators permit this wording, as six separate statements, for foods that are at least a source of vitamin C. Normal skin holds high levels of vitamin C. The claim describes what the body needs vitamin C for. It does not show that extra vitamin C changes how skin looks in someone who already gets enough, and how creams and serums compare with getting enough in the diet is poorly understood.

Amount studied: Recommended intake: 75 mg a day for women and 90 mg for men, from food and supplements

May raise the antioxidant activity measured in skin*¹⁰

Early evidence

One small placebo-controlled trial. Thirty-three volunteers took vitamin C or a placebo for four weeks, and the skin's ability to neutralize free radicals was measured with a magnetic resonance method. It rose 22% with 100 mg a day and 37% with 180 mg a day, and did not change with placebo. In the people also measured at two weeks, the rise had already reached its peak. It is one study of a laboratory measure, not of how skin looks or ages.

Amount studied: 100 or 180 mg a day for four weeks

Vitamin C and vitamin E side by side

Vitamin C and vitamin E compared for adults^{1,2,5,6,11,12}
Question	Vitamin C	Vitamin E
Dissolves in	Water	Fat
Form that counts	Ascorbic acid, and its mineral salts	Alpha-tocopherol
Recommended a day	90 mg for men, 75 mg for women	15 mg
Upper limit, adults	2,000 mg a day, food and supplements together	1,000 mg a day from supplements; food does not need limiting
Absorption	About 70% to 90% at 30 to 180 mg a day; under half above 1 g a day	Needs dietary fat; about 10% with a fat-free breakfast and 33% with a fattier one
After one dose	A 200 mg dose was fully absorbed; 500 mg or more less so	Blood levels peak about 9 to 24 hours later
Statements in our files	Immune function, oxidative stress, collagen, iron absorption	Oxidative stress

Skin and face: what the sources cover

Many searches pair these two with skin or the face. The NIH fact sheets are about vitamins that are swallowed, and what they say is limited. Normal skin holds high levels of vitamin C, and the body uses it to make collagen and as an antioxidant. No fact sheet or EU statement we found says that extra vitamin E, swallowed, changes how skin looks.^1,2,9

Normal skin holds high levels of vitamin C, which it uses to make collagen and as an antioxidant.⁹

How well vitamin C applied to the skin works, compared with getting enough in the diet, is poorly understood.⁹

Creams and serums sit outside what we can speak to. We make no claim about products you apply, and the safety section below covers one fact about vitamin E on the skin that is worth knowing.

Forms and foods

Neither vitamin has one obvious best form. For vitamin C, research has not shown that any form beats another. Vitamin E comes as natural and synthetic versions that differ in strength by weight, and as esters that last longer on the shelf.^1,2

Other forms include sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate and other mineral ascorbates, ascorbic acid with bioflavonoids, and combination products. Research has not shown that any form is better than another.^1,6

Supplements often use alpha-tocopheryl acetate or succinate, which last longer on the shelf. The body absorbs these esters as efficiently as alpha-tocopherol itself.²

Kiwifruit, broccoli and tomato appear on the food lists of both vitamins, so a plate of fruit and vegetables can supply both. The richest sources split by kind: peppers and citrus for vitamin C, oils, nuts and seeds for vitamin E.^1,2

Half a cup of raw sweet red pepper has 95 mg of vitamin C, three quarters of a cup of orange juice 93 mg, a medium orange 70 mg, a medium kiwifruit 64 mg and half a cup of cooked broccoli 51 mg.¹

What’s in ours

Men's Multi: Vitamin C, 150 mg per serving, from the label
Immune Support: Vitamin C, 180 mg 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 and our immune formula both list the two vitamins on their labels.

Taking them together: what the sources flag

Two findings in the sources we read concern the pair taken together. One is about a medicine combination and comes from NIH. The other is about pregnancy and comes from a Cochrane review. Both studies gave the vitamins with other supplements, so they point to caution rather than to a measured effect of the pair alone.^1,13

Your doctor may want to check on you

In one study, vitamin C taken with other antioxidants such as vitamin E, selenium and beta-carotene blunted the rise in HDL cholesterol from simvastatin taken with niacin. It is not known whether this happens with other cholesterol medicines, and NIH says doctors should check cholesterol levels in people taking both.^1,6

Reported in studies

In a review of 21 trials with 22,129 pregnant women, vitamin E taken with vitamin C or other supplements was linked to more self-reported abdominal pain and more term prelabour rupture of the membranes, and the reviewers did not back routine use.¹³

The two have different ceilings and different reasons for them. Vitamin C is limited to 2,000 mg a day from food and supplements together, and beyond that the usual effect is an upset stomach because unabsorbed vitamin C draws water into the gut. Vitamin E is limited to 1,000 mg a day from supplements, a limit set because of the risk of bleeding. Vitamin E can slow the clumping of platelets and work against clotting factors that depend on vitamin K, so people on anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines need to ask first.^1,2,6,7

Vitamin E on the skin

Vitamin E applied to the skin deserves its own caution. It is found in moisturizers and other personal care products, and it can cause allergic skin reactions in some people.¹⁴

Vitamin E applied to the skin can cause allergic contact dermatitis. Of 38,699 people patch tested in North America from 2001 to 2016, 0.9% reacted to it, most often from moisturizers and other personal care products.¹⁴

In a small double-blind trial, 5 of 15 people who put vitamin E ointment on a surgical scar developed contact dermatitis, and the scars looked no better than with plain ointment.¹⁵

Ask first about vitamin E if you take a blood thinner or an antiplatelet medicine, or have a bleeding disorder.⁷
Ask first about vitamin C if you have hemochromatosis or another cause of iron overload, or have had kidney stones or have kidney disease.⁶
Ask first about either vitamin if you are having chemotherapy or radiation therapy.^6,7
Ask first if you take simvastatin with niacin, since antioxidant mixes that include both vitamins blunted the rise in HDL cholesterol in one study.^2,6
Ask first if you use a blood glucose meter and take high doses of vitamin C, which can give false readings on some meters.¹⁶
Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding and want more than a prenatal vitamin or multivitamin provides.

Questions people ask

Is vitamin E or vitamin C better for skin?

Neither is shown to be better. The EU list has a statement that vitamin C contributes to collagen formation for the normal function of skin, and no skin statement for vitamin E. Both describe getting enough, and how creams and serums compare with getting enough in the diet is poorly understood.^3,4,9

Does vitamin C recycle vitamin E?

NIH says vitamin C has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including vitamin E. That is a finding about body chemistry, and it is why the two are often sold together.¹

Should you take vitamin E and vitamin C at the same time?

No source we read sets a timing rule for the pair. A meal with some fat suits vitamin E, which needs fat to be absorbed, and NIH gives no time of day for vitamin C.^2,5,6

Can vitamin E cream irritate your skin?

Yes, in some people. Of 38,699 people patch tested in North America from 2001 to 2016, 0.9% reacted to vitamin E, most often from moisturizers and other personal care products. In a small trial on surgical scars, 5 of 15 people developed contact dermatitis from vitamin E ointment.^14,15

Are there cautions about taking vitamin C and vitamin E together?

Two are flagged. Antioxidant mixes that included vitamins C and E blunted the rise in HDL cholesterol for people taking simvastatin with niacin, so NIH says to check cholesterol levels. And a review of 21 trials in pregnancy linked vitamin E taken with vitamin C or other supplements to more abdominal pain and early rupture of the membranes at term.^1,13

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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.