Low Toxin Diet Grant Genereux's Theory Of Vitamin A Toxicity

[Dolomite]

@Nstocks I add collagen to coffee and sugar and drink it with a starch like a corn tortilla and raisins for a snack in the morning. I still eat egg white at breakfast. I have a small amount of meat of some kind three times a day so the snacks haven’t needed to be high protein.

 

[Nstocks]

@Nstocks I add collagen to coffee and sugar and drink it with a starch like a corn tortilla and raisins for a snack in the morning. I still eat egg white at breakfast. I have a small amount of meat of some kind three times a day so the snacks haven’t needed to be high protein.

I always forget about collagen! I actually have some collagen hydrolysate that I forgot about.

 

[Dolomite]

@Nstocks Yeah, collagen is handy.

 

[Blossom]

This thread inspired me to begin eating low vitamin A about 6 weeks ago. I've supplemented A heavily in the past, I've eaten a lot of liver in the past, and I've eaten a lot of colorful vegetables for over a decade because "it's healthy." @Blossom inspired me to find out that I'm a poor converter of beta carotene, too.

I've never been a consistent coffee drinker, but my threshold for becoming jittery has always been pretty low. Anecdotally, I feel like my tolerance for coffee/caffeine has increased dramatically since eating less A. I haven't truly tested this by intentionally over-consuming coffee during this time, but I really feel like I handle it much better than in the past.

Do you have specific health issues you are trying to resolve? If so I hope you have success. The only thing I’d say after 9 months of low A eating is stay mindful and objective.

 

[Dolomite]

After 9weeks I still haven't noticed any detox or adverse effects from eating low a and no betacarotene foods. I actually feel as if my metabolism is just functioning better. I have lost a lot of weight that I gained from milk,oj, and carrots, my skin is better and my mood is better. I think it is like Peat says that beta carotene can cause hypothyroidism, causing vitamin a to not be used properly and estrogen to dominate. After reading about others trying this diet change who are not good at converting betacarotene, I think I may fit in that group, too. I am not sure how lower vitamin a fits. I plan to continue as I am for now because my thyroid really seems to be working great now.

 

[Orion]

After 9weeks I still haven't noticed any detox or adverse effects from eating low a and no betacarotene foods. I actually feel as if my metabolism is just functioning better. I have lost a lot of weight that I gained from milk,oj, and carrots, my skin is better and my mood is better. I think it is like Peat says that beta carotene can cause hypothyroidism, causing vitamin a to not be used properly and estrogen to dominate. After reading about others trying this diet change who are not good at converting betacarotene, I think I may fit in that group, too. I am not sure how lower vitamin a fits. I plan to continue as I am for now because my thyroid really seems to be working great now.

Over the last 10yrs trying things I could never get warm dry feet, they were always cold and sweaty, even when basal temps where 98.6, typical hypo symptom and adrenaline compensation. Feet are now warm and dry all the time, can't express how good this feels, when you have forgotten how normal it should be.

 

[FoodStuff8]

So what is the main foods/supplements that people are using at this point that seems to be helping?

 

[InChristAlone]

So what is the main foods/supplements that people are using at this point that seems to be helping?

Whenever I feel yucky I take in more calcium, seems to help. Apparently calcium is used in acute overload situations.

 

[FoodStuff8]

Whenever I feel yucky I take in more calcium, seems to help. Apparently calcium is used in acute overload situations.

Calcium from what source?... I have been experiencing teeth issues so I'm curious how that connects

 

[postman]

After 9weeks I still haven't noticed any detox or adverse effects from eating low a and no betacarotene foods. I actually feel as if my metabolism is just functioning better. I have lost a lot of weight that I gained from milk,oj, and carrots, my skin is better and my mood is better. I think it is like Peat says that beta carotene can cause hypothyroidism, causing vitamin a to not be used properly and estrogen to dominate. After reading about others trying this diet change who are not good at converting betacarotene, I think I may fit in that group, too. I am not sure how lower vitamin a fits. I plan to continue as I am for now because my thyroid really seems to be working great now.

if you think it's just beta carotene that's the problem, why don't you try a small dose of a retinol supplement and see how you feel?

 

[InChristAlone]

Calcium from what source?... I have been experiencing teeth issues so I'm curious how that connects

I am still eating some dairy, but when I experience issues I take a milk derived calcium, which is mostly calcium phosphate.

 

[Lynne]

So what is the main foods/supplements that people are using at this point that seems to be helping?

I take no supps but am applying a bit of magnesium oil I was given ages ago, in case I need it and in order to finish it off.

After 9weeks I still haven't noticed any detox or adverse effects from eating low a and no betacarotene foods. I actually feel as if my metabolism is just functioning better. I have lost a lot of weight that I gained from milk,oj, and carrots, my skin is better and my mood is better. I think it is like Peat says that beta carotene can cause hypothyroidism, causing vitamin a to not be used properly and estrogen to dominate. After reading about others trying this diet change who are not good at converting betacarotene, I think I may fit in that group, too. I am not sure how lower vitamin a fits. I plan to continue as I am for now because my thyroid really seems to be working great now.

Great! I hope you're right @Dolomite

 

[FoodStuff8]

I tested positive for Lyme and have started taking antibiotics... as a last resort... guts are all messed up... wonder how Lyme ties in with all this VitA theory

 

[Dolomite]

Over the last 10yrs trying things I could never get warm dry feet, they were always cold and sweaty, even when basal temps where 98.6, typical hypo symptom and adrenaline compensation. Feet are now warm and dry all the time, can't express how good this feels, when you have forgotten how normal it should be.

You are right that this just feels normal. I felt like I was doing everything right to fix my metabolism but there was something blocking it. This avoidance of vitamin a

 

[Dolomite]

if you think it's just beta carotene that's the problem, why don't you try a small dose of a retinol supplement and see how you feel?

Since it has only been 9 weeks I want to continue as I am for at least a few more months. I doubt if my liver has depleted stored vitamin a. Also, in the last three years I developed a cataract in one eye and I would like to see if that will go away or my eyesight will improve. I am just wondering if the beta carotene was interfering with my ability to use vitamin a.

 

[Dolomite]

Great! I hope you're right @Dolomite

It is only 9 weeks and I just have such a good attitude that maybe I am jumping the gun but it sure is nice.

 

[Dolomite]

"The carrot is rich in carotene. When you eat it as a whole vegetable, raw, the fibre keeps you from absorbing, almost all the carotene passes through you. When you juice, you get quite a bit of good sugar and minerals, but you also get a tremendous amount of carotene. And carotene works like unsaturated fats in blocking thyroid function and progesterone function. In the early years of treating thyroid patients, they noticed that infertile women often turn out to have a red spot in the ovary in place of the yellow spot, which is called the corpus luteum. And it was red because such a tremendous amount of carotene had accumulated in it, that instead of being yellow it was a red spot. And that indicates both that the thyroid is unable to convert the cholesterol into progesterone and that the vitamin A, which should be used in the conversion, is blocked by the carotene accumulating in the tissue. It's the same with the adrenals. The excess carotene blocks adrenal steroid production."

This was posted on page 50 and is part of Hypervitaminosis A by Ray Peat. This is what I am wondering about in my case. Prior to the last 9 weeks my diet included beta carotene daily.

 

[Dolomite]

I tested positive for Lyme and have started taking antibiotics... as a last resort... guts are all messed up... wonder how Lyme ties in with all this VitA theory

I thought Grant mentioned Lyme disease but I couldn’t find anything in the table of contents of either ebook. The resulting autoimmune problems from Lyme disease would fit with this vitamin a theory. Other than that I don’t know. It can’t hurt to try.

 

[Lynne]

It is only 9 weeks and I just have such a good attitude that maybe I am jumping the gun but it sure is nice.

I don't think you're jumping the gun. I had a major mood upswing at the 7 week mark and within a week felt like my mood was back to 'normal' for the first time in some years.

 

[Yi at LDT]

It's great to hear these results, my own experience certainly validates them. I do not think you are jumping the gun. For me eating some high carotenoid foods and rememmbering how I felt prior to low A eas the nail in the coffin.

I'm putting a 5000IU cap of retinyl palmitate on my stomach as I write this. I woke up feeling shitty, drank some vodka last night and I'm having caffeine withdrawal. I have not been meeting my caloric needs this past week.

Should be interesting