Consistent Negative reaction to foods high in vitamin A or beta carotene

[Ippodrom47]

I do eat eggs regularly and have no trouble with the A in them. I think it's a healthy way to get A.

Hi! Me again :) I was wondering if you had to limit or avoid eggs on the low-A diet for several months or were you eating them even then? Thanks!

 

[LauriePartridge]

Hey, no I wasn't eating them then I don't think. But I don't think it would have been a big deal if I had. I was just really wanting to get rid of the extra A so I was super careful to avoid A foods. I kept it to like a few hundred IUs a day which is too low actually for an extended period of time. I just could tell right away if I could handle some A by the reactions I'd get like if I got a bad headache right away. When I did eat eggs some months later, I felt really good actually and started eating liver again too but in small amounts.

 

[Ippodrom47]

Hey, no I wasn't eating them then I don't think. But I don't think it would have been a big deal if I had. I was just really wanting to get rid of the extra A so I was super careful to avoid A foods. I kept it to like a few hundred IUs a day which is too low actually for an extended period of time. I just could tell right away if I could handle some A by the reactions I'd get like if I got a bad headache right away. When I did eat eggs some months later, I felt really good actually and started eating liver again too but in small amounts.

Thanks again! I guess I better avoid them for a while. I almost never get headaches, so my symptoms are usually dry skin and general fatigue.

 

[Ippodrom47]

I think now I seem to understand why there may be different reactions to retinol and beta-carotene (also, I created a post on Grant's forum) - basically, when we ingest retinol, we can't make it pass through the body unabsorbed, meaning it will get absorbed anyway and be used or stored even if the liver's capacity is full, thus contributing to vit A toxicity. It's a bad thing, for sure, but when the state of vitamin A toxicity has already been reached, a small dose doesn't add too much.

Beta-carotene, on the other hand, needs to be converted, and that process fully depends on the numerous bodily systems that are involved: digestion, thyroid, liver/bile function, etc. When the body knows that it shouldn't convert more beta carotene to retinol as the liver is already full of vitamin A, it will make everything possible to disrupt the process by essentially disrupting the whole metabolism altogether. I feel great as long as I avoid all sources of carotenoids for now. However, when I eat even a small amount of carotene, all my metabolism shuts down. I guess I just need to wait it out on a low-A diet to deplete the liver's stores just a bit.

 

[Birdie]

I stay away from beta carotene foods amap. My husband loves to cook winter squash and carrots. I do eat a little squash. So delicious. I don't notice anything but know it's not the best cuz of the beta carotene. Back when I started being aware of it, I did the test of palms of hands and soles of feet. Yes, I was one who doesn't convert it to vitamin A. Orange palms and soles for me.

I definitely take enough vitamin A though. Otherwise, with the increased metabolism of a Peat diet, I get breakouts.

 

[JudiBlueHen]

Also some folks have reduced ability to convert BC, depending on your BCO3 gene snp's. I have about 1/3 less ability than normal. I have also read that BC can be carried in the bloodstream by LDL. This makes me wonder if excess BC can look like excess LDL on a serum lipid test.