Is Vitamin E (Tocopherol) Safe with Simvastatin?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Use caution with high-dose vitamin E supplements (>400 IU/day) while on simvastatin. Low-dose vitamin E from dietary sources or a standard multivitamin is acceptable. Discuss with your physician if you are considering antioxidant supplementation for cardiovascular benefit.
Why this interaction occurs
High-dose antioxidant supplementation including vitamin E has been shown in clinical studies (e.g., the HDL Atherosclerosis Treatment Study – HATS) to blunt the beneficial HDL-raising effects of statin-niacin combination therapy. There is also evidence that excessive antioxidant supplementation may interfere with some statin-mediated cardioprotective mechanisms. High-dose vitamin E (>400 IU/day) has independently been associated with increased all-cause mortality in meta-analyses.
Evidence
Evidence level: moderate.
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 213,170 reports mentioning Simvastatin. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Simvastatin + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All Vitamin E (Tocopherol) interactions → · All Simvastatin interactions →
Already checked this one — check your whole list
Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.