Vitamin A: Beauty or Beast?

One doesn’t have to look far to find information demonizing high levels of vitamin A as being toxic. This erroneous information is dutifully paraded about in front of pregnant women warning them about birth defects. It’s been reported that high levels of vitamin A can cause osteoporosis and be a precursor to hip fractures. Other side effects include fatigue, irritability, nausea, and excessive sweating. 

Nonetheless, vitamin A is essential to health and life. Our vision (and eye health in general) is dependent on vitamin A. Night blindness is a direct result of vitamin A deficiency. Adequate levels of vitamin A are imperative for embryonic development and proper transcription of the DNA (conflicting the data cited above). Cleft palate and harelip are results of vitamin A deficiency. Strong bones and teeth, healthy skin and mucous membranes, the thyroid and adrenal gland, rich blood, and the immune system are all reliant on vitamin A. Measles is a result of vitamin A deficiency. Wound healing depends on vitamin A. So, does vitamin A harm or heal? 

In 1919, vitamin A in egg yolks was the first fat soluble vitamin to be discovered. In 1924, it was found that vitamin A in butter or cod liver oil could help prevent xerophthalmia (dry eyes) in children. By 1947 though, science had moved in, created, and accepted a refined, synthetic chemical structure resembling vitamin A and began mass producing it in the laboratory. However, Vitamin A is not one isolated, man-made molecule. It is a family of compounds consisting of carotenoids (not just beta carotene but also alpha and gamma), and a group of retinoids. It is always found in nature buddying up to its synergistic fatty acids, enzymes, trace minerals, chlorophyll, and other vitamins. Vitamin A is really a mosaic of several interwoven complexes.

Herein lies the folly of the misguided, research claiming vitamin A can be harmful. We must make, and understand, the distinction between lifeless, isolated, inert, molecules made in a laboratory by a finite thinking man and a live, whole food, independently active, vitamin A complex perfected by an infinitely wise Mother Nature. Yes, synthetic vitamin A can be toxic as can be any artificial supplement, pharmaceutical, or additive. I would not recommend this at all. On the other hand, vitamin A from a whole food source such as raw butter from grass fed cows, egg yolks from pastured chickens, and liver and organ meats from free range animals are indispensable! 

Accutane is a synthetic form of retinol used to treat acne. It has been pulled from the market due to its mounting health concerns. Though the FDA refuses to ban the drug, they issued an alert that Accutane contributed to suicidal thoughts and actions. Some children whose mothers took Accutane during pregnancy were born with nervous system defects, brain damage, and congenital heart disease. 

The vitamin A complex, unlike the synthetic version, is so vital to life and our bodily functions that nature has created a storage system for it. Excess vitamin A gets stored in our fat cells. It is a survival mechanism. When supply becomes low (in tribal times when poor hunting conditions produced little to no yield) we have a reserve tank. Strenuous exercise, periods of physical growth, stress, infections, and pregnancy/lactation quickly deplete vitamin A stores. 

Do you eat raw butter, cod liver oil, or organ meat regularly? How many eggs do you eat in a week? In a day? Raw eggs are best. I put one in a blender with some yogurt, a banana and other fruit, and ½ an avocado. That makes a great smoothie and you will never taste the egg or feel its texture. 

Well, what about the vitamin A in a carrot, sweet potato or other orange fruits and vegetables? The difference between vitamin A in animal products and that in plants is that animal sources contain retinol and plant sources contain carotene. Retinol is converted to vitamin A and is immediately available for the cells to use. Carotene, in contrast, must be converted to retinol first and that conversion ratio is poor. The accepted ratio of how many units of beta-carotene are needed to produce one unit of vitamin A is 6:1. What this means in English is that you have to eat an awful lot of fruits and veggies to obtain even the daily minimal conversion. Carotenes also need the assistance of fat, zinc, iron, vitamin E, and a thyroid hormone called thyroxine to be converted to retinol. I am not telling you to ditch the carrots. The carrot has infinite nutritional value. The moral to the story here is that a balanced diet including clean meat/organs/fat is vital to maintaining health. 

Raw butter may be found by searching through www.realmilk.com for a farm or food co-op near you. I highly recommend cod liver oil from www.greenpasture.org. It has not been refined and does not have synthetic vitamins added to it.