Vitamin A debate 😊

[rubyred777]

Hi everyone

Looking in my local pharmacy, I didn't see vitamin A. I'm wondering how many of you are taking it. Also how much are you taking? Do you have to order it? I Know your not supposed to take over 10,000 safety. I was thinking cod liver oil.

Anyone use that? Do you feel it's helping you?

Rubyxx 😊

[rubyred777]

I agree with you FilbertI no one should be taking massive doses of any supplements. I'm looking more at a small maintenance dose. I know this has been debated on here many times.

I just wondered if anyone is taking it, and how much. I'm thinking of the cod liver oil. Seems pretty safe. I know some people are taking vit. A and wondered how their taking on with it.

RUBYXX 😊

[music in reply to rubyred777]

hi ruby i have started taking cod liver oil now a week and wonderd if i should be taking it, but most people i have spoke to have said that when they were children there mums would always make them take cod liver oil while growing up.

So it must be ok but it tastes disgusting lol but then again if its going to help a little well why not.

Good luck

Music

[Hidden]

Agree 100% flibberti x

[huggs]

HI Ruby,

I totally agree with flibberti, and if your diet is healthy you probably don't need much in the way of supplements unless maybe a good quality multivitamin. Once you start researching the benefits of all the vitamins and supplements you would possibly feel you had to take them all!

Its also important to check things out with your doc to see if you are deficient in any vitamins. Like flibberti I take adcal due to osteopenia, vitamin B12 injections and folates as I am deficient in them, but this was all confirmed by blood tests and a bone scan.

Not sure why you cannot buy vitamin A in your country, so it would be interesting to find out why. Maybe a pharmacist could enlighten you?

hugs from Huggs xxx

[punkyb]

I wrote to my doctor and told him I was going to change my diet to high vitamin A and was wondering if he could monitor my blood on this. He had his nurse call me and she said...doctor said don't take the vitamin A over the recommended RDA/FDA because it causes cancer. and then he also took some extra blood tests for me. all was well except the vitamin D was low which I know little about. hope this helps

[rubyred777 in reply to punkyb]

Thanks Punky

I'm just going to take a multi, some B complex, B-12 , calcium,

and like you I' have vitamin D defiency . Seems Vitamin A is not so good for you, after all.

Its so confusing! Graham makes it sound so good. Vitamin a and d have to be balanced a certain way. Plus you have to have the k2. If there not, it harms your bones. Just sticking with my simple regiment. Plus I will add

turmeric to that.

What inhalers are you using?

Your moderate right?

Rubyxx 😊

[Puffthemagicdragon]

There are two ways of taking vitimin A

Too much pure vit A goes can cause liver damage amongst other things.

I take beta-caratone. The body then converts it into vit A. So no adverse problems.

[stilltruckin in reply to Puffthemagicdragon]

lmreview.com/articles/view/...

Quote:

'While it has long been recognized that vitamin A and provitamin A differ significantly in bioavailability and therefore biologic activity, recently published research reveals that a significant number of individuals are “low-responders” unable to absorb and/or convert provitamin A carotenoids to vitamin A, and that even in individuals who would normally be able to metabolize provitamin A to vitamin A, numerous factors can effectively impede this conversion. Research showing large individual variations in the actual absorption of pro-vitamin A from foods and in its conversion to retinol has demonstrated that current data on retinol activity equivalents (RAEs) for vitamin A sufficiency is highly misleading, and that a significant percentage of the American population may be vitamin A insufficient.'

[katieoxo60]

That picture sounds a good philosophy .

[rubyred777 in reply to katieoxo60]

It's straight and simple. But, it's the best way to deal with life😊

Rubyxx 😊

[O2Trees]

Hi Ruby, re turmeric: the curcumin which is the active part of turmeric, is not easily absorbed and I've read more than once that you need black pepper with it to make it more bioavailable. If you are taking capsules maybe they also contain black pepper.

I take organic turmeric which i buy in bulk and take with food, have just started adding black pepper.

I don't feel i know enough about Vitamin A, even though i read lots of those posts by Graham. I will check the link Flib posted.

I take Vitamin D as people with copd can be low in it, and it's been worth it as a recent blood test showed my VitD levels to be in the higher part of the normal range.

I take krill oil, Vit C, and co-enzymeQ10 which is good for cell health and energy.

I also take magnesium as reflux drugs, which i take in spades unfortunately, are known to hinder magnesium absorption, and magnesium is essential for soft muscle tissue health which is necessary for healthy lungs (or as healthy as we can get them). And too little can cause cramps and i was getting too many of those.

To some extent i agree with huggs and flib about a good diet being more or less sufficient, but where i would question that is that older people can have difficulty with absorption. Of course i don't know your age Ruby but Im thinking you're younger than me

xxxxx

[rubyred777 in reply to O2Trees]

HI O2

Good to see you posting. I'm confused about the vitamin A. I'm pretty sure Stilltruckin takes 5,000 of it. She researches everything really good. I'm not trying to encourage people to take it. I actually thought a couple members were taking it. I have asked stilltruckin about the cod liver oil. From what I read the amounts of vitamin A are very unstable in it. I've also read people that smoke or did smoke shouldn't take Beta Carotene supplements. I know Megan took too much Vit. A. I was looking at a small amount. I'm not a mega supplement type person! My husband takes like 20 vitamins every morning! All at once with a sip of water! I could choke just watching him! I used to take turmeric all the time. It completely took my wrist pain away. Its pretty amazing stuff.

I Will Stress that anybody on blood thinners shouldn't take it.

Don't know how old you are O2.

I know your young at heart 😊

Rubyxx 😊 😊

[O2Trees in reply to rubyred777]

Hahaha - Im 69 Ruby xxx

[stilltruckin in reply to rubyred777]

I take 10,500 IU/day of vitamin A supplements (as retinol), and 5,400 IU/day of vitamin D. I recently had a blood test that included serum vit D, and my level is 150 nmol/L. This is 'high normal' - the kind of level you'd get from being naked under a tropical sun every day. It's relevant that I spend most of my time indoors, and that I only weigh 50 kg - 5000 IU for me is like 7000 IU for someone weighing 70 kg.

There's a small risk of birth defects for pregnant women taking more than 10,000 IU/day vit A, which is why this has been set as the safe upper limit, but the lowest chronic dose at which some particularly vulnerable people risk damaging their liver is >25,000 IU/day.

Bear in mind that your multivitamin could have 2500 IU vit A in it, and that a 3 ounce serving of liver would have at least 14,000 IU.

You could easily get the max dose of vitamin A from cod liver oil, but still need to top up your vit D. I don't know whether all brands of cod liver oil have the same quantities of A and D in them, quite possibly not, you'd have to read the label. Looking at the Holland & Barrett site:

Cod Liver Oil Pure Liquid: Per 10 ml: Vit A 6000 IU, Vit D 600 IU.

Cod Liver Oil Capsules 1000 mg: Vit A 2664 IU, Vit D 200 IU.

As regards beta-carotene and lung cancer risk:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/201...

nutraingredients.com/Resear...

[punkyb in reply to stilltruckin]

Just drinking a 6 oz glass of carrot juice everyday will give you 47K iu of vitamin A. I was going to do that and my Dr said no because it will cause cancer.

This is the actual note I sent to the doctor:

Hello Doctor,

I was wondering if I could ask you for a blood test that would tell me how I am doing on vitamins, minerals and/or other necessary nutrients.

I want to change my diet to include lots of carrots and other foods high in vitamin A. I understand I may need to monitor my levels if I continue to do this long term because it stores up in the body.

I am also curious to see if I am deficient in vitamin D, calcium and/or other things that my body is needing and if that could be negatively contributing to my conditions.

Please let me know if you can order the test(s)

So after the tests I have heard nothing from the doctor even with the vitamin D being low at 25...I do not know what to make of that...

I think I will pay a nutritionist to get some healthy eating tips.

[stilltruckin in reply to punkyb]

'Why you can’t get vitamin A from eating vegetables': healthybabycode.com/why-you...

[punkyb in reply to stilltruckin]

That makes sense to me...Maybe my doctor needs to read it! he just jumped on the band wagon with cancer scare.. I am rethinking my doctor...

[punkyb]

I left a comment below about my experience. I think it is a reply to 02..I think you will find it...

[Seaelf]

I started to go orange though my wife thinks its a nice glow and tan after 20 days betacarotene 12 500 iu daily.

Since then i take one every 10 days. Orange means a troUbled

liver ? I didn t think beta carotene

was harmful ?,

[Azure_Sky]

I bought some Vitamin A and D capsules and make sure I don't exceed the dose. I also get Vitamin D in my diet.

Quite by accident, I discovered Vitamin C tablets taken in doses of at least 4 a day really help with the Hay Fever. Vitamin C is also brilliant for curing mouth ulcers.