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Vitamin E + Multivitamins

Supplement 2: Vitamin E + Multivitamin (Ca, Mg, D3, Zn)

What is it?

Vitamin E is found naturally in some foods and is available as a dietary supplement. Vitamin E possesses antioxidant properties.

Good sources of Vitamin E are:

  • Sunflower seeds

  • Wheat germ oil

  • Almonds

  • Peanuts

  • Spinach

  • Broccoli

  • Mango

  • Tomato

Regimen:

  • What: Oral capsules

  • How much / Dosage:

  • Vitamin E - 400mg (RDA = 15mg; tolerable upper limit = 1000mg)

  • Multivitamin - 1000mg Calcium carbonate (RDA = 1000mg) + 240mg Magnesium oxide (RDA = 340mg) + 500 IU Vitamin D3 (RDA = 600 IU) + 11mg Zinc sulphate (RDA = 8mg)

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA): Average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97–98%) healthy individuals; often used to plan nutritionally adequate diets for individuals.1

  • How to use:

    • Vitamin E - Take one capsule from 15 days before the period until the start of the period for 2 menstrual cycles

    • Multivitamin - Take one capsule daily for 2 months

How does it work?

With its antioxidant properties, vitamin E reduces phospholipid peroxidation and inhibits the release of arachidonic acid and its conversion to prostaglandins. Therefore, it can play a significant role in relieving the severity of dysmenorrhea.2

What is the efficacy?

Methods: Studies were done to assess the efficacy of vitamin E in treating dysmenorrhea. Women with primary dysmenorrhea were randomly assigned to take either vitamin E, calcium (alone or combined with magnesium), or calcium with vitamin D, or a placebo. Vitamin E was given for a few days before and during menstruation, and the minerals from mid-cycle until the pain stopped. Pain levels, duration, and sometimes menstrual blood loss or painkiller use were recorded over several cycles to compare the effects of the supplements with placebo.3,4,5

Results: All three studies found that the supplements helped reduce menstrual pain compared to placebo. Vitamin E significantly lowered both the severity and duration of pain, while calcium and magnesium together showed greater pain relief than calcium alone.

Conclusions: Overall, vitamin E and mineral supplements like calcium and magnesium can help lessen the pain of primary dysmenorrhea, making periods more manageable.

Side-effects:

Short-term effects: Weakness, fatigue.

Long-term effects: Bruising, excess bleeding.6

References

  1. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Nutrient Recommendations and Databases. [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; [cited 2025 May 20]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/nutrientrecommendations.aspx

  1. Sadeghi N, Paknezhad F, Rashidi Nooshabadi M, Kavianpour M, Jafari Rad S, Khadem Haghighian H. Vitamin E and fish oil, separately or in combination, on treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2018 Sep;34(9):804–8. doi:10.1080/09513590.2018.1450377.

  1. Vilvapriya S, Vinodhini S. Vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Jun;7(6):2257–61. doi:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20182331.

  2. Charandabi SM, Mirghafourvand M, Nezamivand-Chegini S, Javadzadeh Y. Calcium with and without magnesium for primary dysmenorrhea: a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial. Int J Women’s Health & Repro Sci. 2017 Oct 1;5(4):332-8.

  3. Zarei S, Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi S, Mirghafourvand M, Javadzadeh Y, Effati-Daryani F. Effects of calcium-vitamin D and calcium-alone on pain intensity and menstrual blood loss in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial. Pain medicine. 2017 Jan 1;18(1):3-13.

  4. Owen KN, Dewald O. Vitamin E Toxicity StatPearls 2021 [Internet].

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