Vitamin E appears to reduce both the incidence of prostate cancer and the mortality rate. A reasonable dose is 50 to 100 IU of vitamin E daily. If you take supplemental vitamin E, I would recommend that you buy a “mixed tocopherol” preparation, usually available only at health food stores.
Eating whole-grain foods, peas, soy oil, sunflower oil and raw almonds may be a more effective way to increase your vitamin E intake. In studies, food sources of vitamin E are more strongly associated with improved health than are supplements. This may be because food has more of the type of vitamin E called gammatocopherol. Much higher doses of vitamin E, perhaps 400 IU twice a day, may be helpful for men experiencing hot flashes due to their prostate cancer treatment.
