Save Citation To File
Literature dated from 1996 to 2012, published in English, involving either animals or adult humans with an acute or chronic wound were included.
Healing Scars
Ointments and creams that contain vitamin E claim to clear every type of scar can be found on store shelves across America. However, evidence that vitamin E has this effect is mostly anecdotal.
Find out the truth about the many health claims for caprylic acid. However, a different study found that children with surgical scars who used vitamin E three times a day didn’t develop keloids, or extra scar tissue over the wound. Researchers concluded that using a topical form of vitamin E before and after surgery improved the way wounds healed.
Supplements for healing Some research suggests that vitamin E supplements can be effective for people with severe damage to their skin. Vitamin E can support your body in several aspects of the healing process. It’s also critical for the formation of red blood cells, which distribute oxygen around the body.
Overview
Praised as an antioxidant, vitamin E helps your body in a number of other ways, such as helping your immune system and helping keep vessels healthy. You can slather it on your skin or swallow it in a capsule There are claims that vitamin E, as an antioxidant, fights a host of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, age-related vision loss, and even certain cancers. Cosmetic shelves are loaded with goods that contain vitamin E that claim to reverse age-related skin damage.
The real benefits behind vitamin E are found in the seesaw balance of free radicals and antioxidants.
Free Radicals And Antioxidants
These unstable molecules interact with cells in the body in a way that can cause damage. Our bodies can create free radicals as we age or through everyday factors like digestion or exercise.
They’re also caused by exposure to external things like: tobacco smoke
ozone
environmental pollutants
radiation Antioxidants, like vitamin E, neutralize free radicals by donating the missing electrons that destabilize them. In fact, the study determined that vitamin E was associated with a higher risk of stroke. A 2011 follow-up found that study participants who had taken vitamin E actually had a 17 percent higher risk of developing prostate cancer.
While there have been a few studies that support this, the greatest body of research indicates that vitamin E doesn’t help skin wounds heal faster.