Vitamin A

[Guest guest]

Beta caroteen is a wonderful nutrient and when you eat a carrot, squash,

spinach, or other vegtable you are not just getting A, you are getting all of

the other synergystic nutrients in it. That is the way food was meant to be

ingested in the whole package together.

 

Cod liver oil is good also. But when you trash one to promote another, well ????

 

Anyone making some of the statements in this article is either uneducated about

nutrition or they are selling supplements and skewing the information. Skewed

information is very common on commercial sites where they are using what looks

like good data but is in reality a very skillfully crafted sales piece.

 

Frank

 

http://mercola.com/2004/jan/3/vitamin_a.htm

 

 

Natural Vitamin A Found in These Foods is Superior to Synthetic Form

 

 

 

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

with Rachael Droege

 

 

 

Vitamin A is an important nutrient yet there is much confusion surrounding its

appropriate form, dosage and source. Many people do not receive enough of this

nutrient, particularly those in developing countries, however, many people are

afraid of taking too much due to the commonly heard warnings that too much

vitamin A is toxic and can result in birth defects, liver abnormalities, and

reduced bone mineral density, which could result in osteoporosis.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, what is rarely addressed along with these warnings is the TYPE of

vitamin A. There is a big difference between synthetic vitamin A and vitamin A

from natural sources. Most cases of vitamin A toxicity result from an excess

intake of synthetic vitamin A in supplements, NOT the natural form of retinol

(vitamin A) found in liver or cod liver oil.

 

 

 

In fact, vitamin A, an anti-infective vitamin, is useful for many conditions

including vision problems, poor thyroid function, a weakened immune system, and

fighting off infections, especially those that involve mucous membranes as

vitamin A is used to form the cells lining the digestive, respiratory,

reproductive and urinary tracts and all tissue linings of the body. It is also

required for the digestion of protein, lactation, reproduction, healthy skin and

eyes, and the formation of steroid hormones. Vitamin A deficiency can result in

a number of problems including night blindness, dry eyes, eye infections and

skin problems.

 

There are no plant sources of vitamin A (carrots and other yellow/orange

vegetables and dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce contain

beta-carotene, not vitamin A); it is only present in animal products. If you

follow my newsletter then you’ll know that I recommend cod liver oil as the best

source of vitamin D (other than the sun, of course), but what you may not know

is that it is also one of the best sources of vitamin A.

 

 

 

There is no need to worry about vitamin A toxicity if you take it in cod liver

oil, and there are several reasons for this. First of all, as I mentioned

earlier the main toxicity that can result from vitamin A is due to SYNTHETIC

vitamin A, NOT the natural form found in cod liver oil.

 

Secondly, cod liver oil has vitamin D in it, and it is virtually impossible to

become toxic on vitamin A if you take it along with vitamin D. As you can see in

a study published in the December 2003 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

vitamin D is associated with reduced vitamin A toxicity, and the vitamin D

appears to protect against retinal toxicity.

 

 

 

This study also found that the safe upper single dose of retinol IN OIL seems to

be 12,000 to 18,000 units of vitamin A per kilogram of body weight. The cod

liver oil that I recommend has 1,000 to 1,250 units in a one-teaspoon serving,

which means that you will be way under this limit if you follow my recommended

dose (one teaspoon for every 50 pounds of body weight per day).

 

Relying on plant foods containing beta-carotene as your sole source of vitamin A

is not a wise choice, and vitamin A deficiency is a major concern for people who

choose to have a strictly vegetarian diet. Beta-carotene is the metabolic

precursor of vitamin A, which means that it must be converted into vitamin A in

the body. However, it takes bile salts, thyroid hormone and dietary fat to

facilitate this conversion, and even then the conversion of beta-carotene into

vitamin A is poor (it takes about six units of beta-carotene to make one unit of

vitamin A).

 

Further, people with liver or gall bladder problems, hypothyroidism, alcoholism

(heavy alcohol intake can impair storage of vitamin A in the liver), or

diabetes, and infants, cannot adequately convert beta-carotene to vitamin A, so

it is especially important for this large group of the population to consume

animal sources of vitamin A like cod liver oil.

 

If you are consuming a healthy diet, there is no need to supplement with vitamin

A. Some excellent sources of natural and beneficial vitamin A include:

 

Cod liver oil (this will also give you beneficial omega-3 fats and vitamin D)

Egg yolks

Butter

Raw, whole milk

Liver (beef, chicken)

 

Including these foods in your diet should give you adequate vitamin A with no

need for supplementation and little to no risk of overdosing. Vitamin A is a

fat-soluble vitamin, which means that it needs to be eaten with fat in order to

be optimally absorbed. One of the great things about natural foods is that they

almost always account for these types of conditions. You’ll notice that all of

the foods above also contain fats, so the environment is automatically right for

the vitamin A to be utilized by your body.

 

 

Related Articles:

Vitamin A Improves Growth of Sick Children

 

Vitamin A -- A Vital Nutrient

 

Vitamin A Is Saving Children's Lives

 

Vitamin A Derivative May Be Useful In Fighting Cancer

 

The Vegetarian Debate Continues: You Can't Get Vitamin A From Plants

 

Too Much Vitamin A Can Up Risk of Hip Fracture

 

 

 

 

 

 

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