Vitamin A

links: Vitamins & Minerals reference:

• Grant Genereux’s Theory of Vitamin A Toxicity (385 fucking pages): https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/grant-genereuxs-theory-of-vitamin-a-toxicity.24722/
• https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/post-your-vitamin-a-success-stories-here-please.34611/ 4-11-2021

Vitamin A #

• How much do I take???

  • Mayo clinic provides an upper limit of 10,000 mcg, or 30k IU ( 50k IU of β-carotene RAE (retinol activity equivalent) but have fun converting that - assuming that’s taken into account)

• 

• “For several years, when I had an extremely high metabolic rate, I needed 100,000 units per day during sunny weather to prevent acne and ingrown whiskers, but when I moved to a cloudy climate, suddenly that much was too much, and suppressed my thyroid. The average person is likely to be hypothyroid, and to need only 5,000 units per day. Avoiding large amounts of carotene, and getting plenty of vitamin B12 to be able to convert any carotene that’s in your food, helps to use vitamin A efficiently”

• Increases Iron absorption (especially non-heme)

• Interferes with Vitamin K absorption. Vitamin A toxicity inhibits synthesis of K2 by intestinal bacteria.

• Severe deficiency decreases Iodine uptake.

• High levels can decrease Vitamin D uptake

• Zinc is required for vitamin A transport

• Vitamin A with Vitamin E enhances intestinal absorption up to 40%, increases antioxidant capabilities, and reduces inflammation. Vitamin E protects vitamin A from oxidizing (I believe it is the most easily oxidizable vitamin) RPF

Skin #

• https://theskincareedit.com/2017/04/25/vitamin-a-for-acne
  • Opposes keratinization (shedding of skin cells), which can be excessive in those with acne, leading to dead skin lingering on the surface.
• https://theskincareedit.com/a313
  • PEG 400, PEG 4000, Polysorbate 80, Retinyl Palmitate. Is this superfluous on top of systemic vitamin A? Good question. This would be a go-to if I wanted topical vitamin A that wasn’t tretinoin, though. Taking vitamin A dermally circumvents the liver.

Brain Function #

• https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/brain-metabolism-predicts-fluid-intelligence-and-creativity.10241/post-144150
  • After 10 weeks of VAD (vitamin A deprivation), the NAA/GSH (N-Acetylaspartate/Glutathione) ratio decreased in the Striatum and Hippocampus, and after 14 weeks, in the striatum and cortex.
  • “Hypoexpression of retinoid signaling during a short 10 wk period has consequences on brain metabolic profile and precedes the impaired expression of both Amyloid βogenesis and synaptic plasticity markers”.
  • “Rat nutritional VAD represents a model of accelerated aging which mimics the course of aging.”
  • “The NAA/GSH ratio reflects the balance between neuronal health and protection against reactive oxygen species, and could thus serve as a marker of brain health.”
• The ideal ratio of vitamin A to D is about 5-1 R

Supplementation #

Retinil palmitate is not a retinol, but a retinoid and a retinol ester. Fat soluble. Acetate is water soluble.

• Healthnatura Simply A (palmitate): $21 - 1430x2500 IU (170.23k IU/$)
  • OR $43 1000x15,000 IU (348.8k IU/$)
• Interplexus/Biocare Nutrisorb A: (retinil palmitate $23 - 340x2,500IU
  • Synthetic alternative of acetate.
• Haidut’s Retinil: (Retinyl acetate) $25 - 340x2,500 IU (34k IU/$)
  • OR palmitate in tocopherols+MCT: 340x5,000 (68k IU/$)
  • Supposedly ~80% absorption in anhydrol; ~20% in the MCT. Now, is oral absorption in MCT better or worse than 20?
    • The acetate ~5x as expensive as healthnatura, but the absorption is probably about 4x as good, while the MCT is probably identical to Healthnatura but about twice as pricy.
  • 2400 IU of acetate = 2100 IU vitamin A. 5kIU palmitate = 2750 IU.

Comes in multiple forms:

• Retinol
  • Its metabolite Retinoic Acid, found in animal products.