Just for fun, I asked chatGPT to provide an estimate of how long a zero vitamin A diet would take to completely deplete a full liver of Vitamin A.
It gave the higher estimate of a full liver of A for an 80kg adult male as ~500,000 UI:
A few thoughts:
- From what I've anecdotally read, it seems to take people longer. I've seen people say within 2 years the majority of peoples health has returned, something like 70~80% recovery, and then slight increases from then on. Which is a far cry from 167, which is closer to just over 5 months.
- Perhaps there is some need for the body to maintain a lower vitamin A status for the healing to take place however; so when it starts lowering, immediate issues resolve, then when its below a certain threshold (or zero) deeper issues take place, perhaps something like "dna repair"? different parts of the body also seem to heal at different rates.
- This assumed 0 vitamin A being consumed, which is not possible. However, i asked it to recalculate on a low vitamin A diet (assuming 160 IU per day - which seems likely for a lot of us) and it would only take 176 days.
- This assumes healthy vitamin A metabolism - perhaps we simply don't have this. Toxic bile theory, clogged liver ducts, whatever it is.
- Perhaps there are people who make full recoveries within 5 months. Anyone heard of any?
It gave the higher estimate of a full liver of A for an 80kg adult male as ~500,000 UI:
The time it would take to deplete a liver store of 500,000 IU of vitamin A on a near-zero vitamin A diet depends on the body's daily usage of vitamin A. The average daily requirement for an adult male is about 900 micrograms (mcg) of retinol activity equivalents (RAE), which is approximately 3,000 IU.
Calculations
To find out how many days it would take to deplete the liver stores:
- Daily Requirement: 3,000 IU/day.
- Total Liver Store: 500,000 IU.
Number of days=Total Liver StoreDaily Requirement=500,000 IU3,000 IU/day≈167 daysNumber of days=Daily RequirementTotal Liver Store=3,000IU/day500,000IU≈167days
So, if the liver is storing 500,000 IU of vitamin A, it would take approximately 167 days to deplete these stores if no additional vitamin A is consumed and the daily requirement is 3,000 IU.
Factors Influencing Depletion Rate
- Individual Variation: Metabolism and vitamin A requirements can vary based on individual health, age, activity level, and other factors.
- Health Status: Conditions affecting vitamin A metabolism or increased need (e.g., infections, certain diseases) could alter the depletion rate.
- Baseline Stores: The initial liver stores and efficiency of vitamin A utilization may differ from person to person.
Practical Considerations
While a theoretical calculation gives an estimate, in practice, monitoring vitamin A levels and health status is important. If vitamin A toxicity is a concern, medical supervision is essential to safely manage and monitor depletion without causing deficiency-related problems.
A few thoughts:
- From what I've anecdotally read, it seems to take people longer. I've seen people say within 2 years the majority of peoples health has returned, something like 70~80% recovery, and then slight increases from then on. Which is a far cry from 167, which is closer to just over 5 months.
- Perhaps there is some need for the body to maintain a lower vitamin A status for the healing to take place however; so when it starts lowering, immediate issues resolve, then when its below a certain threshold (or zero) deeper issues take place, perhaps something like "dna repair"? different parts of the body also seem to heal at different rates.
- This assumed 0 vitamin A being consumed, which is not possible. However, i asked it to recalculate on a low vitamin A diet (assuming 160 IU per day - which seems likely for a lot of us) and it would only take 176 days.
- This assumes healthy vitamin A metabolism - perhaps we simply don't have this. Toxic bile theory, clogged liver ducts, whatever it is.
- Perhaps there are people who make full recoveries within 5 months. Anyone heard of any?