REAL vitamin A foods, please stand up!
When you hear think about vitamin A foods, what sources come to mind? Most nutrition books and internet sources list the following as excellent sources of vitamin A:
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- Dark leafy greens
- Cantaloupe
- Bell peppers
Although taken for granted as ideal vitamin A foods, these plants provide only the precursor to vitamin A, carotenoids. Interestingly, we need to be consuming true vitamin A foods, foods containing retinol, to meet our vitamin A requirements.
Retinoids vs. Carotenoids
The most important fact about vitamin A is the difference between retinoids and cartenoids. The vitamin A from animal sources is retinoids, also called retinol, while plant source vitamin A is carotenoids, such as beta carotene.
Animal sources of retinol is bio-available, which means the body can utilize it. The vitamin A from plant sources, in contrast, must first be converted to retinol to be useful in the body. This poses two big problems.
First, when we are in pristine health, it requires at least six units of carotenes to convert into 1 unit of retinol (source). To put this in perspective, that means one must eat 4 1/2 pounds of carrots to potentially get the amount of useable A as in 3 oz. of beef liver (source). What happens if we have digestive issues, hormone imbalances, or other health problems? It requires even more units of carotene in the ratio.
Second, the carotene-to-retinol conversion is HIGHLY compromised. As a matter of fact, this conversion is negligible for many individuals. This conversion is virtually insignificant:
- In infants
- In those with poor thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
- In those with diabetes
- In those who are on a low fat diet or have a history of low fat dieting
- In those who have compromised bile production (think: gallbladder and digestive issues) (source and source)
So, do you still think carrots are a vitamin A food? As with other orange veggies, sweet potatoes provide carotenes. Although beta carotene is an antioxidant, it is not true vitamin A. We must eat true vitamin A foods on a daily basis to meet our requirements for this essential nutritient.
True Vitamin A Foods
What are true vitamin A foods – the foods that give the body retinol, not carotenes?
- Liver from any animal, enjoy pasture-raised liver 2-3 times per week or take desiccated liver capsules daily
- Fermented Cod Liver Oil, which is higher in vitamins (I recommend the Cinnamon Tingle flavor)
- Regular Cod Liver Oil, the Weston A Price Foundation suggests this specific brand of cod liver oil capsules if the fermented option cannot be purchased. (However, there is some controversy that this cod liver oil is now stripped of the naturally-occurring vitamins during processing.)
- Egg yolks from hens foraging in pasture, ideally enjoy 2-4 egg yolks per day (Don’t worry about the cholesterol)
- Butter from grassfed cows
- Heavy cream from grassfed cows
Without a doubt, regular consumption of pasture-rasied liver is the most effective way to consume optimal levels of this vitamin. Men, women, children, and infants should consume liver on a bi-weekly basis. (This book explains how and why to feed liver to your baby). If you don’t enjoy eating liver or liver pate, I believe desiccated liver capsules are a nonnegotiable supplement for overall health and hormone balance.
Vitamin A Foods for Vegetarians and Vegans
As you can see, true vitamin A foods come from animal sources. A vegan diet simply does not provide the body with adequate vitamin A for optimal health. A vegan diet also reduces thyroid function and bile release, which drastically compromises the already poor carotene-to-cartenoid conversion.
From the Inuit in Alaska to the Maori in New Zealand, traditional cultures inherently understood the importance of consuming animal products. That’s why all “primitive peoples” (as Dr. Price called them) from across the globe without exception ate some form of animal products. For more information on the unbreakable dietary laws of traditional peoples, read Dr. Price’s recorded research in his life-changing book.
A vegetarian may be able to meet daily vitamin A requirements by emphasizing pastured egg yolks and grassfed dairy products. If I could suggest one meat-based product for a vegetarian to consume, it would be desiccated liver capsules. Liver is the best source of vitamin A and, gram-for-gram, the most nutrient-dense food.
Widespread Vitamin A Deficiency
The Weston A. Price Foundation offers a uniquely informed recommendation on vitamin A intake:
From the work of Weston Price, we can assume that the amount in primitive diets was about 50,000 IU per day, which could be achieved in a modern diet by consuming generous amounts of whole milk, cream, butter and eggs from pastured animals; beef or duck liver several times per week; and 1 tablespoon regular cod liver oil or 1/2 tablespoon high-vitamin cod liver oil per day. (Source).
50,000 IU of vitamin A per day? You may wonder. Is that for real?
Yes, yes it is. Consuming plenty of true vitamin A foods contributed to the flourishing vitality of traditional cultures, discussed in Dr. Price’s landmark book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
Due to the lack of true vitamin A foods in our modern diet, we face an epidemic of vitamin A deficiency. This contributes to the widespread health issues in our culture including:
- Hormonal imbalances
- Infertility
- Mood disorders
- Skin problems including eczema and acne
- Poor immune system
- Thyroid disorders like hypothyroidism
Vitamin A Toxicity: Should you be concerned?
Reports of vitamin toxicity or birth defects with moderate vitamin A supplementation led to a society traumatized by vitamin A toxicity. The studies that link moderate doses of vitamin A to health problems and birth defects use synthetic vitamin A. As with all synthetic vitamins, synthetic A lacks the complex cofactors and “living” integrity of natural A that allows the body to actually utilize the vitamin.
Since the body doesn’t really know how to use the fake vitamin, it collects in the body and can become toxic at moderate levels. In this way, synthetic vitamin A is more of a toxin than a nutrient. Steer clear of multivitamins and fortified grain products to reduce exposure to synthetic A. (Source)
Popping multivitamins won’t address vitamin A deficiency because your body simply cannot utilize the isolated, synthetic vitamin A. Technically, however, there is a pill that will give your body useable vitamin A… and that is desiccated liver pills!
Non-isolated, natural vitamin A in a whole-food source does not cause problems except in extremely high amounts. Dr. Weston Price studied the diets of traditional cultures around the globe and it is surmised from his work that these diets contained about 50,000 IU of natural vitamin A per day. This dose of vitamin A did not cause health problems but contributed to the glowing vitality of what he described as “primitive cultures.”
It all comes down to one nonnegotiable fact: we must consume true vitamin A foods to meet our vitamin A requirements!
Pair Vitamin A Foods with Vitamin D
An essential puzzle piece of the vitamin A story is vitamin D. Vitamins A and D work hand-in-hand: D helps the body utilize vitamin A and prevents toxicity of the natural vitamin A. Dr. Price’s traditional cultures thrived on high doses of natural A because they were also receiving adequate levels of vitamin D through sun exposure and the proper diet.
Cod liver oil, a historically sacred food, offers the unique balance of vitamin A and vitamin D, both in highly bio-available forms. Everyone from babies to pregnant mothers to the elderly can benefit by taking a top quality cod liver product daily.
For those who do not receive 10-20 minutes of daily mid-day sun exposure, I recommend this uniquely absorbable vitamin D supplement taken daily. I never skip my drop a day of this stuff! Experts advise a regular vitamin D serum test if you are taking any type of vitamin D supplement. Learn more from Dr. Mercola about vitamin D serum tests.
Want to absorb vitamin A? Don’t forget the fat!
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. So, we can neither consume adequate vitamin A or absorb this vitamin A if we are on a low fat diet. (Period.) Adequate fat is also increases the poor conversion of carotenoids to useable A. Fortunately, Mother Nature, in all of her wisdom, designed the foods rich in true vitamin A to contain the fat we need to utilize the vitamin.
In particular, butter and animal fats such as lard and tallow stimulate bile release and therefore aid in A absorption and the conversion of carotenoids to useable A. Although these fats nourished our ancestors, animal fats were shunned by recent generations due to poor science. Fortunately, the low fat era is coming to an end as we shed light on the fact that old fashioned fats are good for us!
For the love of true vitamin A, share this post with the buttons below!
Ridiculous to recommend that vegetarians/vegans may want to take desiccated liver pills. The very idea makes me nauseous.
My wellness advocate ( he has his Phd) said he never saw a healthy vegetarian.
Yes, even Taiwan famous monk has stroke thrice. I saw one Buddist nun died of cancer.
He apparently did not know my grandfather, who was a vegetarian for most of his life. He died on his 105th birthday and had no serious health issues except being old. My father will be 99 soon and is 99% vegetarian and has been for his entire life.
99% is not 100%. If your grandfather took cod liver oil and ate liver occasionally he would have ingested a good amount of animal sourced Retinol to keep healthy.
I would respectfully respect your wellness advocate is not very intelligent for a guy with a PhD. What was his PhD in? I bet it wasn’t nutrition. If it was he has problems.
Exactly. ????????
I had my gallbladder out because of cholecystitis a year ago and because I am also already in my late 40’s,an age where stroke becomes a threat so I have been til now trying so hard to maintain a low fat diet but knowing now that my body can’t absorb vit.A if i keep fat low in my diet makes me quite confused.
Here is some information from https://www.liverdoctor.com/what-to-do-if-you-dont-have-a-gallbladder/
Eat some good fats and avoid the bad fats. Your doctor may have recommended you follow a low fat diet after having your gallbladder removed. This is not necessary and in fact it is harmful. Your body desperately needs good fats and I recommend you include moderate quantities of extra virgin olive oil, avocados, coconut milk and oil, nuts and seeds in your diet.
Take an ox bile supplement. This is the most important recommendation for people who have lost their gallbladder.
I had my gall bladder out 12 years ago and still eat normal amounts of fat; cheese, cream, milk, coconut oil, EV olive oil etc. Not cutting down on fat as it’s necessary for good health and haven’t noticed any problems with my digestion at all.
Low fat is part of the medical industrial complex scam to keep you unhealthy. A high organic fat diet is important as long as you train your body to burn fat instead of sugar known as the White Death. If your diet doesn’t have enough healthy fats, supplement them. Avoid gmo fats like canola, olive oil that’s diluted with poor oils. Pure extra virgin cold pressed olive oil is extremely healthy, but don’t cook with it. Buy from countries that have strict rules on olive oil production. There are many healthy oils, just do some research.
Are you taking some sort of ox bile so you can digest fats?
Hi thank you for this information I already consume coconut oil but was told to avoid all dairy I loved real grass fed butter in Ireland I only used it on gluten free bread now Iam confused ????????as I really miss butter x
I’m not so sure about your article.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/03/why-vitamin-a-may-not-be-as-useful-or-harmless-as-you-thought.aspx
I suffer from dry mouth and chapped lips nothing seems to help can you suggest something that might work I understand too much vitamin A can cause it but I do not take vitamin A so please help also my tongue burns
If your tongue burns, it sounds like you have Candida issues. Look into that and stop eating sugar, carbs, etc. to starve it away. Get help from a naturopath if necessary because doctors know nothing about it.
Time for a fast a drink plenty of water and herbal tea. No sugars but try stevia if you must sweeten a tad.
There’s several possibilities for a burning mouth, including deficiency in B12 which is not a particularly rare deficiency to have. Have a glance at some of the other B12 symptoms, if it sounds like you then you could always take some supplements for a week and see how you go. Methylcobalamin is reportedly the better form to try and you could also get sublingual tablets if malabsorption issues means that diet isn’t getting you everything you need (said tablets are quite tasty, they just sit under your tongue)
Needless to say, if it is a B vitamin problem then lower sugar/carbs would also assist as the b-vits are involved in sugar/carb metabolism, but if you’ve got to the stage where you’re actively deficient then you’d need a bit of a boost just to get it up a bit more
Check your thyroid functions. I had the same issues… Hypothyroidism.
I don’t think you thought this article through and it is scaremongering at best. For the record, 1 medium carrot contains around 10,300 micrograms of beta-carotene equivalents which at a 1:6 ratio gives a person 1718 micrograms of Vit A. To put that in perspective, the recommended daily intake in Australia is 900 micrograms for a male and 700 micrograms for female. So one medium carrot gives a woman double her recommended intake of Vit A and a man almost double. That is just 1 carrot, not considering all the other vegetables and fruit that also contains it. Yes, liver is a fantastic source of Vitamin A among other fat-soluble vitamins. But if you take yourself seriously you will not use another website as a source but rather peer-reviewed science.
Also, beta-carotene is actually good for diabetics and may help people who are susceptible to not get it. Telling people who are diabetic to not have beta-carotene is ridiculous. it is not poorly absorbed it is absorbed in the ratio it is meant to be absorbed and if the body doesn’t need more Vitamin A then the beta-carotene will remain as beta-carotene. We are NOT on the verge of a Vitamin A deficiency epidemic if we were there would be a hell of a lot more blindness. This article is over the top and borders on negligent.
CLEARLY Paul is a troll and has notting better to do if only he knew what he was talking about ..my mother is a diabetic and was told to stay away from the beta’s tut tut please paul work on your own blog and stop pushing your negativity please ~! btw theres always one
Josh, calling Paul a troll because he doesn’t share the same opinion as you, is the real trolling behaviour.
I have an eye disease where I’m supposed to avoid vit A. Will this cause other health risks to me?
If someone wanted to remain vegan, is there any food source or supplement you could recommend for vitamin a? anything at all?
Thank you for sharing this information and providing at least one source with multiple references in it (https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/vitamin-a-saga/).
It was an eye opener in regards to VitA in vegetables. You are also on the dot about conventional wisdom and low fat diets.
Cheers,
Thomas
Even at a 1:6 ratio, a cup of sweet potatoes provides all the beta-carotene you need for the day, and considering most of the population wouldn’t be included in the list you provided for reduced conversion rates, the vast majority of people should have no problem getting enough vit a from a vegan or vegetarian diet. Even at reduced conversion from digestive disorders, you would only have to eat a few more servings of carotenoid rich vegetables a day. Vitamin A from animal sources can most definitely be toxic when over consumed chronically. Over consumption of organ meats such as liver can cause gout and increase risks of heart attack and stroke. Moderation is key. Do not take more than the recommended upper limit of any vitamin or mineral before talking to your doctor, especially fat soluble vitamins because you can’t just pee them out like water soluble vitamins.
I recently had my DNA done and results showed that I was likely low on vitamin A because genetically I was poor at converting beta carotene into A. I had the impression from the geneticists that this is not particularly uncommon. My ancestors were probably all meat eaters (Northern Europeans). Thus I could eat a bag of carrots and not get my vitamin A. Theories are fine but hard facts are what we each need (as individuals) to find our way forward to good health. We are each genetically unique. This arrival may not help some folks but it was enormously helpful to me.
“Article”. Not “arrival”. lol.