Vitamin A activity of beta-carotene surprisingly low

Dean

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I think I'm going to try switching out the carrots for bamboo shoots. Even grating and rinsing the carrots maybe isn't enough for someone with an already sluggish liver.
 

kiran

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Are you already skipping the coconut oil in the salad? Fat increases carotene absorption.
 

Dean

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kiran said:
Are you already skipping the coconut oil in the salad? Fat increases carotene absorption.


I posted about my experiences with carrots and the salad on another thread, but basically I had a pretty uncomfortable reaction to slivered carrots (carotene doesn't wash out) with coconut oil, but not so bad without it. Perhaps it was your advice I saw somewhere that led me to leave the fat out. I have been using the fat though when I eat the carrot whole or grated and well rinsed.

Still I think my liver is having problems and perhaps I should be looking to restrict carotene intake as much as possible, not just with bamboo shoots instead of carrots, but maybe even cherry juice (or even just white sugar) instead of oj?
 

kiran

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I think that was Peat's advice actually. Also. Narouz suggested you grate the carrot and leave it in the fridge for a few days, that ought to reduce the carotene content further. He said it turned white after a bit.

Anyway, it might not be a bad idea to give the carrot a break.
 

pboy

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I think I read somewhere about indigenous people in a region basically stocking up on Vitamin A during one season and living on that supply mostly for the rest of the year
with just a minor amount being taken in throughout the rest of the year.
Could it perhaps be that the body intelligently absorbs / converts carotene based on existing liver stores? So for someone with an already pretty adequate Vit A supply, the body protects against excess storage by not converting the carotene and excreting more, but for someone with low stores the body would try its best to convert and store as much as possible. Just a hypothesis...though I think with some other vitamins and minerals this has been a topic of discussion.
 

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