Vitamin A

[cartersmom]

I would love some solid info on Vitamin A. I have read that too much A is harmful, I have also read that, as with Vitamin Cand D, these reports are unfounded and the concern is only with synthetic forms of vitamin A( retinol), and if one takes natural forms( can you get natural A anyplave else besides food? CLO is a natural form is it not?), high levels can be beneficial in treating and preventing infectious disease and even cancer. It has also been touted by some to help prevent vaccine damage. I have read alot on A (and C and D) on the Weston Price Foundation website.
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny has a section in the latest book about taking Vitamin A to booste the immune system and even has recomendation for infants through adult as to how much to take. But I have also read that a proper balance bwteen A and D is essestila and too much of one with out enough of the otrher can be bad and visa vera. I read this on Dr. Mercola's website http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/03/why-vitamin-a-may-not-be-as-useful-or-harmless-as-you-thought.aspx and this http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/23/important-cod-liver-oil-update.aspx. This directly contradicts what The Weston Price Foundation says about Vitamin A in partyiclar and the sources from food.
Just wondering what others think about taking extra natural A and D(besides what one gets in their diet) on a daily basis, assuming that one doesn't comsume liver and a ton of animal fats or whole dairy products on a daily basis. Also if one takes Fish Oil supplemets does this cover A or would one take CLO on top of the fish Oil. I am really trying to educate myself about vitamins and minerals, but i find the more I read, the more contradictory information i find and the more confused I get :(

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

and the medical profession must be loving all this!

I'm not fussed. I aim to eat properly, take vitamin A, get plenty of mid-day sun, and cruise along without worrying my head about it all.

In the winter, I might take some D3, but the issues of toxicity don't bother me, because I'm not in the bracket where that would be a consideration. I.e.:

I don't primarily eat junk food, therefore rampantly supplement all the time:

I do plenty of exercise and get plenty of sun.

I have good levels of vitamin C, so :thumb: as far as I'm concerned, there isn't anything to worry about.

After all, all worrying does, is trash your immune system, and make what might be a minor issue, into a major one.

the fact that so few people have died after taking vitamin a reminds me that taking it, is still far safer than stepping into a hospital under any circumstances. :p

[Spy]

You get contradictory information because pharmaceutical industry changes their products without necessarily letting you know. :rolleyes:

Once upon a time there was old good stinky 'crude' Fish Oil which had plenty of A, some decent amount of D and, being oil coming from oily fish, also had decent quantities of Omega3 acid stuff.

Once the chemical industry progressed, things got 'refined', 'purified', and otherwise industrialized, killed and spoiled. Gradually we separated 'cod liver oil' (cod is a fish) from 'fish oil' and started to market the first as a 'source of A and D' and the second as a 'source of essential fatty acids'. Furthermore, as Hilary explained elsewhere, recently COL got even more more 'refined' and 'purified' to taste and smell better, which resulted in dropping the D in many cases which in turn, in the western sun-phobic and sterile-skinned world resulted in major nutritional imbalances in those who went hard on CLO (possibly still thinking it's a good source of A and D since the pharmaceuticals didn't necessarily let people know their product not just became better smelling bit significantly changed nutritionally).

Bottom line - pharmaceutical CLO is not necessarily natural form anymore. Some could be, need to research. Oily fish is still natural form :D. Bottom line - supplements only make sense if you're deficient. You might want to check the chart Hilary gave in one of these topics to check what other foods give you vitamin A, it is never as simple as one or two things that you may or may not eat. This one: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR15/wtrank/wt_rank.html

I can already see heaps of vitamin A in most fruit and veges!