Low Toxin Logs Low(er) Vitamin A Log

[milk_lover]

Other are doing that, but not me. As I mentioned, I mainly went down from ~10000 IU to 2000 IU per day, mainly by stopping liver-based foods and limiting eggs.

Yeah I think that’s managable and less stricting. I am doing that without me realizing it last year. I think when my body tells me to eat vitamin A based food, I will make sure I listen.

 

[MarcelZD]

BTW, has anyone had the idea to reduce VA stores with an iodine protocol? I don't want to accept the slow route of depletion, there must be something we can do.

Some interesting interactions like this study wherein someone had the ingenious idea to 'treat' iodine deficient children with VA.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...on_of_the_thyroid_and_reduces_the_goiter_rate

 

[milk_lover]

Casein can also worsened a lot of things related to A. So, it might be more the casein than the vit A content that causes trouble.

Yeah probably. Also the enzymes used, the perservatives, citric acid in buffalo cheese, and many things. Also histamine could play a role. White bread even the iron fortified one gives me less issues compared to commercial cheese.

 

[somuch4food]

Please keep this thread light and experience based. Here is the purpose of this thread as quoted from the OP:

I don't mind if others share their experiences. I would like to keep it as "experiences only", either positive or negative. I don't really want the debate & over-intellectualizing like in the Genereux thread.

 

[MarcelZD]

Is it because of vit A in the milk? Bread has gluten which is probably hard to digest for many people but for some reason I tolerate it better than supermarket cheese.

I really don't know, but most dairy gives me serious inflammation likely emanating from the gut. For all the gluten scare, white bread is one of few things that never seems to cause me any trouble. If I crave fat, olives seem to be my best bet.

 

[Blossom]

I really don't know, but most dairy gives me serious inflammation likely emanating from the gut. For all the gluten scare, white bread is one of few things that never seems to cause me any trouble. If I crave fat, olives seem to be my best bet.

I don’t think gluten is always a problem. I think what we have done to wheat has made it a problem for many in recent times. If I weren’t celiac I’d eat organic non fortified/non GMO bread. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and listen to my own body more rather than listening to experts. My favorite foods were always plain ol’ fruits like apples and pears, plain noodles, rice, meat and potatoes. I’ve always liked olive oil too.

 

[InChristAlone]

I do very well on wheat. And recently started making my own organic sourdough. I am currently waiting on my dough to get light and airy and will be baking two loaves in a few hrs. It's like an art, feels good to know your bread was made with love and that it's more digestible. I've been making my kids sourdough pancakes in the morning, one cup ripe starter, one egg, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. They love them. I guess this thread is going off topic! haha Maybe we do need just one thread dedicated to the testimonials.

 

[Blossom]

I do very well on wheat. And recently started making my own organic sourdough. I am currently waiting on my dough to get light and airy and will be baking two loaves in a few hrs. It's like an art, feels good to know your bread was made with love and that it's more digestible. I've been making my kids sourdough pancakes in the morning, one cup ripe starter, one egg, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. They love them. I guess this thread is going off topic! haha Maybe we do need just one thread dedicated to the testimonials.

Low Vitamin A Diet Testimonials

 

[MarcelZD]

- Winter allergies (Mountain Cedar here in Texas) are almost non-existent compared to the last 3 winters. I've had no need for antihistamines this season. Odd since Chris Masterjohn recommended more A for allergies in one of his podcasts.

- Sleep is likely better, though that may be due to lack of allergies. Fewer "groggy" mornings.

I don’t think gluten is always a problem. I think what we have done to wheat has made it a problem for many in recent times. If I weren’t celiac I’d eat organic non fortified/non GMO bread. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and listen to my own body more rather than listening to experts. My favorite foods were always plain ol’ fruits like apples and pears, plain noodles, rice, meat and potatoes. I’ve always liked olive oil too.

I'm very similar in this regard, and I think many people are. Before I started making conscious food choice I instinctively tended to a kind of light high-starch Mediterranen - bread, pasta, very light sauces and lean meats, fresh fruit. I think my hindbrain still associates these foods with good digestion even though some of those staples now cause me gut issues. I seldom sought out dairy foods except for desserts or some cheese every now and then.

I think it was when I started incorporating lots of dairy that my health really took a turn for the worse, and VA restriction appears to resolve at least some of those issues. One obvious change is my skin: I didn't have anything resembling clinical eczema but the irregularities and bumps on my skin I used to have are slowly disappearing. I suspect it has something to do with abnormal collagen formation, but who knows.

My appetite has increased a lot. Before VA induced gut inflammation would shut down my appetite almost immediately. This in turn means that my kcal intake is quite a bit higher than before, and that I have to eat some high-PUFA foods for the lack of calorie-dense alternatives. Thus far I haven't had any negative effects, and my skin as well as my previously coarse hair look much smoother and healthier. This is the PUFA I'm sure, but of course if Peat is right I might be setting myself up for metabolic derangement down the line.

Despite higher calorie and PUFA intake my midsection is getting leaner. It wasn't bad by any means, but I'd looked noticably softer than I did in my teens and early twenties despite being more muscular. I used to think these were the effects of age and stress, but hey maybe it's just The A.

 

[Brother John]

Yes I am a believer in a simple diet. I think they are wrong about diversity. I mean as long as we get plenty of nutrition of the foods we do eat, then it doesn't matter if the diet isn't diverse, we probably get good at extracting what we need out of the foods we regularly eat.

That is amazing you are doing so well at your age! Do you use any supplements?

yes but in a very irregular way. Magnesium, niacin amid, calcium, very little B vitamins, some glycine and Taurine and Gelatin..

 

[MarcelZD]

Another thing, has anyone noticed calcium related improvements? My teeth are remineralizing on low/no A it seems.

 

[Blossom]

Another thing, has anyone noticed calcium related improvements? My teeth are remineralizing on low/no A it seems.

Yes, I noticed that too after approx 3-4 months.

 

[Orion]

Another thing, has anyone noticed calcium related improvements? My teeth are remineralizing on low/no A it seems.

Less calcium is drawn from bone and teeth to buffer against retinoic acid, I think many of us will start to see big improvements.

 

[charlie]

Another thing, has anyone noticed calcium related improvements?

Yes.

Less calcium is drawn from bone and teeth to buffer against retinoic acid, I think many of us will start to see big improvements.

Bingo bongo.

 

[milk_lover]

Another thing, has anyone noticed calcium related improvements? My teeth are remineralizing on low/no A it seems.

Less calcium is drawn from bone and teeth to buffer against retinoic acid, I think many of us will start to see big improvements.

So you guys are telling me that if I stop eating high vit A food sources, I don't need to buy fancy expensive UHT goat milk that comes all the way from the UK every few days? Sign me up please.

 

[Cirion]

FWIW, I personally feel playing artificially with any of the fat solubles seems to be problematic not just A. I started to get some tooth aches when supplementing vitamin E. I now don't supplement ANY of the fat solubles.

 

[livesimply]

I wonder if a lot of problems people are having with milk is simply that people are converting the tryptophan to serotonin instead of niacin? I can understand, I seem to have this problem myself. But for me personally, I am trying to minimize PUFA and milk is the only way to do so, so I'm forcing myself to try to make milk work (Ie, not convert to serotonin).

@Blossom where did you find non-fortified milk? Are you referring to raw milk?

Just jumping in here. I live in a state that prohibits selling raw milk, so I've been buying this: Whole Grassmilk - Half Gallon | Organic Valley The whole milk is NOT fortified, only the reduced-fat version is. And you could get the Whole Cream on Top Grassmilk version and ditch the cream if you wanted....

 

[dfspcc20]

Just an update. Still doing what I started back in October 2018; lower Vitamin A (retinol + carotene) than what I had been historically doing. Mainly just not eating liver, and limiting eggs and colorful vegetables. Still eating dairy, oysters and other seafood, so definitely not "low" vitamin A.

Notable numbers from recent standard blood tests are below. Fasting cholesterol and blood sugar going in the right direction, though I wasn't particularly worried about those before. TSH is headed the wrong way, though, but I feel good, so not too worried either.

Confounding factor might be that the 2 previous tests were done in December, and the most recent was in late May. That could explain the better vitamin D number, and perhaps the lower cholesterol. I'm not supplementing vitamin D now, but do get a lot of sun. I was occasionally taking 1-2K/day vitamin D orally during the 2016 and 2017 tests.

Other pro: I've lost weight without consciously trying. I wasn't worried about weight before. I'm 6'1". I weighed around 180lbs during the 2016 and 2017 tests. I'm at 167lbs now. I haven't noticed any strength loss in the gym, and I think I look better overall, so assuming that was mostly fat or water loss. I don't really weight lift consistently enough, and never had body fat measured, to say for sure. But even in the summer before, I can say I wasn't this lean.

Possible con: I had a few teeth with worn enamel, which appear to be developing into cavities now. Hard to say if lower A contributed, or if it would have happened anyway.

5/29/2019
Cholesterol, Total: 195
HDL Cholesterol: 65
Triglycerides: 68
LDL Cholesterol: 114
Glucose: 100
TSH: 2.1
Vitamin D,25-OH: 35

12/15/2017
Cholesterol, Total: 224
HDL Cholesterol: 65
Triglycerides: 66
LDL Cholesterol: 146
Glucose: 105
TSH: 1.63
Vitamin D,25-OH: 28

12/30/2016
Cholesterol, Total: 223
HDL Cholesterol: 56
Triglycerides: 133
LDL Cholesterol: 140
Glucose: 106
TSH: 1.79
Vitamin D,25-OH: Not tested

 

[InChristAlone]

Just an update. Still doing what I started back in October 2018; lower Vitamin A (retinol + carotene) than what I had been historically doing. Mainly just not eating liver, and limiting eggs and colorful vegetables. Still eating dairy, oysters and other seafood, so definitely not "low" vitamin A.

Notable numbers from recent standard blood tests are below. Fasting cholesterol and blood sugar going in the right direction, though I wasn't particularly worried about those before. TSH is headed the wrong way, though, but I feel good, so not too worried either.

Confounding factor might be that the 2 previous tests were done in December, and the most recent was in late May. That could explain the better vitamin D number, and perhaps the lower cholesterol. I'm not supplementing vitamin D now, but do get a lot of sun. I was occasionally taking 1-2K/day vitamin D orally during the 2016 and 2017 tests.

Other pro: I've lost weight without consciously trying. I wasn't worried about weight before. I'm 6'1". I weighed around 180lbs during the 2016 and 2017 tests. I'm at 167lbs now. I haven't noticed any strength loss in the gym, and I think I look better overall, so assuming that was mostly fat or water loss. I don't really weight lift consistently enough, and never had body fat measured, to say for sure. But even in the summer before, I can say I wasn't this lean.

Possible con: I had a few teeth with worn enamel, which appear to be developing into cavities now. Hard to say if lower A contributed, or if it would have happened anyway.

5/29/2019
Cholesterol, Total: 195
HDL Cholesterol: 65
Triglycerides: 68
LDL Cholesterol: 114
Glucose: 100
TSH: 2.1
Vitamin D,25-OH: 35

12/15/2017
Cholesterol, Total: 224
HDL Cholesterol: 65
Triglycerides: 66
LDL Cholesterol: 146
Glucose: 105
TSH: 1.63
Vitamin D,25-OH: 28

12/30/2016
Cholesterol, Total: 223
HDL Cholesterol: 56
Triglycerides: 133
LDL Cholesterol: 140
Glucose: 106
TSH: 1.79
Vitamin D,25-OH: Not tested

Cavities can be an acid and bacteria problem. You need to address the bacteria in your mouth and also any acids you may be eating. Your cholesterol looks great!! Vitamin D is good!

 

[dfspcc20]

Cavities can be an acid and bacteria problem. You need to address the bacteria in your mouth and also any acids you may be eating. Your cholesterol looks great!! Vitamin D is good!

Definitely agree about cavities. I think the enamel issues started either after a bout of the flu ~5ish years ago, and/or after discovering Peat and regularly drinking coke & OJ without doing anything afterwards to negate the acidity. Been doing the Dr. Ellie stuff now for a while, as well as some of the Calcium Therapy Institute stuff, and homemade mouthwash (How to Make Mouthwash at Home Using this Simple Recipe) to try to prevent it from getting worse. One is on a wisdom tooth (not impacted), so I doubt they'd try to do anything except recommend having it removed. The other is on a 2nd molar, which already had a filling from when I was a teenager, which I really don't want to lose.