High blood Vitamin A

[Borz]

My sister (age 37) recently did a blood test and Vitamin A is above range (result: 89.60 μg/dL, range: 30.00-80.00 μg/dL). This is very puzzling because she does not eat liver, and does not take a Vitamin A supplement. She eats some eggs and dairy but not much. She probably eats a large amount of beta-carotene tho. Does this mean her conversion works too good? Her thyroid is also low with high TSH (3.63), bottom of the range Total T3 and T4, and low pulse and temps. Also, her Vitamin D is a bit high at 66.92 ng/mL, she has been taking a supplement. Any opinions are appreciated.

 

[TheCalciumCad]

How much sunlight vs blue light does she get?

 

[Borz]

How much sunlight vs blue light does she get?

I just know she gets a good amount of both, but not as much blue light as someone working in an office 9-5.

 

[TheCalciumCad]

I just know she gets a good amount of both, but not as much blue light as someone working in an office 9-5.

Theres tonnes of VA in green veg and orange fruits it can easily be overdone outside of dairy/eggs compounded by blue light toxicity. Her vit D level looks perfect but vit D does accumulate in the liver like VA does and can become toxic burdening liver function. I'd tell her to drop vitamin D supplements and eat less VA foods to unburden the liver then instead maximise sunlight and take low dose zinc (say 30mg glycinate) 3x a week or oysters which will reduce VA toxicity.

 

[Vanset]

How tall is she? Is she big or small framed? Different sized people will have more or less capacity to store vitamin A. That's crazy that her blood level is out of range on just "some eggs and dairy but not much".

There's no other way than to reduce the intake of Vitamin A.

I should get the blood test asap apparently.

 

[InChristAlone]

Zinc is needed to utilize vitamin A. Women tend to be copper toxic low in zinc.

 

[youngsinatra]

Reduce vitamin A rich foods, especially animal-sourced retinol.

I‘d not use a zinc supplement blindly unless you get a blood test for it, and re-check it while supplementing.
Low serum vitamin A with high hepatic vitamin A storage is usually a sign of zinc deficiency, but this is clearly not the case here.

I‘d try to get a full-monty-iron-panel to get a sense of the bigger picture. Especially because she has low metabolic activity.

• Ceruloplasmin
• Copper
• Ferritin
• Hemoglobin (Hgb)
• Iron and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC)
• Magnesium, RBC
• 25-Hydroxyvitamin D
• Transferrin
• Vitamin A (Retinol)
• Zinc

 

[Borz]

Theres tonnes of VA in green veg and orange fruits it can easily be overdone outside of dairy/eggs compounded by blue light toxicity. Her vit D level looks perfect but vit D does accumulate in the liver like VA does and can become toxic burdening liver function. I'd tell her to drop vitamin D supplements and eat less VA foods to unburden the liver then instead maximise sunlight and take low dose zinc (say 30mg glycinate) 3x a week or oysters which will reduce VA toxicity.

thank you.

How tall is she? Is she big or small framed? Different sized people will have more or less capacity to store vitamin A. That's crazy that her blood level is out of range on just "some eggs and dairy but not much".

There's no other way than to reduce the intake of Vitamin A.

I should get the blood test asap apparently.

she is 5’3. medium framed I guess. yeah I’m getting a blood test as well today.

Zinc is needed to utilize vitamin A. Women tend to be copper toxic low in zinc.

she tested Zinc and Copper as well and they seem okay, maybe Zinc could be improved a bit? She doesn’t eat liver or oysters, so her copper intake is mostly from some cacao and nuts and other plant foods, it’s surprising it’s this high from those foods alone. She does supplement Zinc a few times a week I guess. Why do you say women tend to be copper toxic?

Zinc result: 89.00 μg/dL, range: 70.00-120.0 μg/dL
Copper result: 131.8 μg/dL, range: 75.0-145.0 μg/dL

Reduce vitamin A rich foods, especially animal-sourced retinol.

I‘d not use a zinc supplement blindly unless you get a blood test for it, and re-check it while supplementing.
Low serum vitamin A with high hepatic vitamin A storage is usually a sign of zinc deficiency, but this is clearly not the case here.

I‘d try to get a full-monty-iron-panel to get a sense of the bigger picture. Especially because she has low metabolic activity.

• Ceruloplasmin
• Copper
• Ferritin
• Hemoglobin (Hgb)
• Iron and Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC)
• Magnesium, RBC
• 25-Hydroxyvitamin D
• Transferrin
• Vitamin A (Retinol)
• Zinc

Will do, thank you.

 

[InChristAlone]

thank you.



she is 5’3. medium framed I guess. yeah I’m getting a blood test as well today.



she tested Zinc and Copper as well and they seem okay, maybe Zinc could be improved a bit? She doesn’t eat liver or oysters, so her copper intake is mostly from some cacao and nuts and other plant foods, it’s surprising it’s this high from those foods alone. She does supplement Zinc a few times a week I guess. Why do you say women tend to be copper toxic?

Zinc result: 89.00 μg/dL, range: 70.00-120.0 μg/dL
Copper result: 131.8 μg/dL, range: 75.0-145.0 μg/dL



Will do, thank you.

Because estrogen increases copper, this is from Dr Pfeiffer's nutrition book: "Pfeiffer and Iliev reported in 1972 that estrogens raise ceruloplasmin and serum copper and lower serum zinc." Her zinc and copper look fine.

He also said this, "Liver reserves and blood levels of vitamin A vary widely and are generally higher for men than for women. But the blood level of vitamin A remains high even when liver storage is exhausted, so that serum levels are markedly affected only in extreme hypervitaminosis A or extreme hypovitaminosis A."

 

[Borz]

I just got my own lab result for Vitamin A (Retinol): 65 mcg/dL (range: 38-98 mcg/dL)

this is after eating lots of dairy for 2 years, some eggs, AND supplementing IdeaLabs’ Retinyl Acetate (5,000-10,000 IU daily) for more than a year. This makes no sense when compared to my sister’s results.

Vitamin D is a bit low at 32 ng/mL
Zinc: 84 mcg/dL (range: 60-130 mcg/dL)
Copper: 90 mcg/dL (range: 70-175 mcg/dL)

 

[Borz]

It’s possible that in my sister’s case, since her Vitamin D is a bit high, the body increased the production of Retinol from beta-carotene, as a protection mechanism from the toxicity of excess Vitamin D? since fat soluble vitamins protect from each other’s toxicity. I can’t think of anything else.

 

[Vanset]

What's yout TSH?

 

[Beastmode]

I just got my own lab result for Vitamin A (Retinol): 65 mcg/dL (range: 38-98 mcg/dL)

this is after eating lots of dairy for 2 years, some eggs, AND supplementing IdeaLabs’ Retinyl Acetate (5,000-10,000 IU daily) for more than a year. This makes no sense when compared to my sister’s results.

Vitamin D is a bit low at 32 ng/mL
Zinc: 84 mcg/dL (range: 60-130 mcg/dL)
Copper: 90 mcg/dL (range: 70-175 mcg/dL)

If you're going off the "Fully Monty" panel, based on Morley Robbin's viewpoint, you want the Vit A to Vit D ratio to be (3:1.)

"Her thyroid is also low with high TSH (3.63), bottom of the range Total T3 and T4, and low pulse and temps. Also, her Vitamin D is a bit high at 66.92 ng/mL,"
Your sister might be getting a lot from fortified foods which inflate that # via a blood test. I was getting a lot from the store bought milk before I switched to drinking just raw milk.

 

[TheCalciumCad]

I just got my own lab result for Vitamin A (Retinol): 65 mcg/dL (range: 38-98 mcg/dL)

this is after eating lots of dairy for 2 years, some eggs, AND supplementing IdeaLabs’ Retinyl Acetate (5,000-10,000 IU daily) for more than a year. This makes no sense when compared to my sister’s results.

Makes perfect sense, the liver stores VA to keep it out of the blood. If you drastically reduced VA intake for a few months your blood test would likely come back at the top of the range or higher as the liver will gradually begin detoxing.

 

[pondering]

.

 

[pondering]

I really appreciate this thread. Hope it’s ok to re-engage it. I got labs per the above and discovered a zinc deficiency. I ate low vitamin A for 2 weeks prior to the blood draw.

Vitamin A: 37 mcg/dL; range 38–98 mcg/dL
Zinc: 48 mcg/dL; range 60–130 mcg/dL
Copper: 85 mcg/dL; range 70–175 mcg/dL
Vitamin D: 36 ng/mL; range 30-100 ng/mL
Carotene 34 mcg/dL; range 6–77 mcg/dL

Low serum vitamin A with high hepatic vitamin A storage is usually a sign of zinc deficiency

Is it possible I might still have high hepatic vitamin A storage?

I generally eat lots of high beta carotene foods, had over supplemented Vitamin A in the past (100,000 IU daily for 7 days 14 months ago, then 17,000 IU daily for 2.5 weeks 10 months ago), and had recently reintroduced dairy, after which I got pronounced skin peeling & dryness. This is the 2nd time with skin peeling related to a Vitamin A addition of some sort in my diet.

 

[youngsinatra]

I really appreciate this thread. Hope it’s ok to re-engage it. I got labs per the above and discovered a zinc deficiency. I ate low vitamin A for 2 weeks prior to the blood draw.

Vitamin A: 37 mcg/dL; range 38–98 mcg/dL
Zinc: 48 mcg/dL; range 60–130 mcg/dL
Copper: 85 mcg/dL; range 70–175 mcg/dL
Vitamin D: 36 ng/mL; range 30-100 ng/mL
Carotene 34 mcg/dL; range 6–77 mcg/dL


Is it possible I might still have high hepatic vitamin A storage?

I generally eat lots of high beta carotene foods, had over supplemented Vitamin A in the past (100,000 IU for 7 days 14 months ago, then 17,000 IU for 2.5 weeks 10 months ago), and had recently reintroduced dairy, after which I got pronounced skin peeling & dryness. This is the 2nd time with skin peeling related to a Vitamin A addition of some sort in my diet.

It is possible, yes.

But I wouldn‘t worry excessively about it. If you don‘t do well with a given food, then don‘t eat it.

Fix your zinc deficiency first and foremost. Do you eat any red meat? This one of the only real zinc-sources, besides oysters.

 

[pondering]

I do eat red meat. Am definitely planning on that and oysters.

I was very much enjoying the dairy, esp after being on a super restrictive diet for almost a year. I was trying to up my calcium to fix a dental issue. But I think my body can’t even process that much calcium yet due to inadequate stomach acid. I’m glad to know about the zinc deficiency as that’s needed for HCL I think. Feels like 2 steps forward, one step back. But hopefully this is all drilling down to the root causes.

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

[youngsinatra]

I do eat red meat. Am definitely planning on that and oysters.

I was very much enjoying the dairy, esp after being on a super restrictive diet for almost a year. I was trying to up my calcium to fix a dental issue. But I think my body can’t even process that much calcium yet due to inadequate stomach acid. I’m glad to know about the zinc deficiency as that’s needed for HCL I think. Feels like 2 steps forward, one step back. But hopefully this is all drilling down to the root causes.

Thank you so much for your reply.

Zinc can definitely help the digestive system from my experience. Just don‘t overdo it. I struggled with hyperzincemia and it‘s not fun. I‘d keep supplementation to 25mg max.

 

[pondering]

Zinc can definitely help the digestive system from my experience. Just don‘t overdo it. I struggled with hyperzincemia and it‘s not fun. I‘d keep supplementation to 25mg max.

Your point is well taken. I’m extra cautious with supplements now. I thịnk that high dose vitamin A (and D) daily for a week triggered reactive hypoglycemia. Working through it but definitely a lesson learned. Would you recommend zinc glycinate as was mentioned above, or another form you like?