We all know vitamin E is a very good antioxidant, it is also used by many to treat burns. It may also be useful as an internal sunscreen. An eminent American nutritionist once recalled a story where he was told - by his nextdoor neighbour - about the miraculous sunscreen properties of vitamin E. This guy loved to tend his garden in the middle of summer but had a fair complexion and was very pale … he subsequently used to burn to a crisp by the ferocious midday sun. It was recommended that he take a vitamin E supplement … he did and the next day he burnt to a crisp. On complaining to the neighbour, the response was “don’t be so stupid, this is a fat soluble vitamin, you need to take it over a period of weeks/months for it to build up in your body”. Which makes sense. So the next summer season he did just that and low and behold, the result was less burning, little if any peeling and the skin turned brown very quickly!
On delivering a lecture, the nutritionist once again recalled this story. To his surprise a member of the audience confirmed his story. She was a nurse and worked on cruise ships in Canada. For years she had been treating people for extreme sunburn. Someone had told her about the miraculous sun protection properties of vitamin E and from that point on, the cruise liner people recommended to prospective travellers take 400-800 units of vitamin E daily, 8-10 weeks before going on holiday. The result was that they had fewer people in sick bay with extreme sunburns - all round, people had a better time!
If this really works - wow, what a discovery! However, it is anecdotal evidence. Nothing has been established in a laboratory situation - no trials have been done. But seeing that summer is on our doorstep, it might be worth a try.