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An audio version of this post is available here.
I’ve had a number of people asking me to get a vitamin A test to see where my serum levels are now at. Of course, I was very curious about that too. It sounds simple enough, but it’s not. Here in Alberta, vitamin A testing is lumped in with vitamin D testing and our socialized medical system has stopped providing discretionary testing for these vitamins. Too many people were requesting the vitamin D test and it was costing the Province millions of dollars. Thus, it appears that they took the position that since “we know” that almost everyone is vitamin D deficient anyways, there’s no need to continue testing for it.
Since we can’t get enough vitamin D from food to meet our body’s needs, Alberta Health Services recommends that all healthy Albertans take a vitamin D supplement.
Here, they’ve provided the blanket recommendation that nearly everyone should just supplement with vitamin D. Yes; our medical experts think that we all should supplement with a vitamin that can also become toxic. Doesn’t that sound familiar? In the context of vitamin A, it’s:
Practical, reliable, field‑based techniques for assessing vitamin A status are increasingly in demand. Not so much to determine whether particular individuals need vitamin A – at 4¢ for 200,000 IU it will always easier, cheaper and safer to assume that they do – but as a way of identifying deficient populations that require community-based intervention.
Source: Vitamin-A Deficiency Health, Survival, and Vision
Alfred Sommer and Keith P. West
Yes, it’s the same sordid story, just a different potentially toxic vitamin. Anyways, it took a bit of wrangling, but I was finally able to get the tests. The Results:
Vitamin A:
(Below low normal) 0.1 µmoI/L
With the following advisory warning: “Vitamin A levels less than 0.4 µmol/L correlate with severe deficiency. Supplementation is advised.”
Although it’s not the 0.0 µmoI/L value I was hoping for, it’s still extremely low. The average for men my age is more like 2.2 µmoI/L.
Therefore, my level is about twenty times lower than normal. Also, compare my serum level to the 1969 case study of the young man in Britain I’d referenced along with the Vitamin-A and epilepsy: A dietary contretemps study by Sharman IM, Stern G. After 5 ½ years of eating a vitamin A free diet he succeeded in getting his serum levels down to about ~0.2 µmoI/L. In that report, he was said to have had the lowest serum levels of vitamin‑A ever recorded in Great Britain. Now, with my levels down to 0.1 µmoI/L, I just may have beaten his long-standing record. I’ll continue with my diet to see if I can achieve the 0.0 µmoI/L within the next year. Getting to absolute zero is obviously hard to achieve. It just might be an asymptotic drawdown function. Or maybe the test is not designed to be accurate in this abnormally low range?
Vitamin D
My vitamin D levels are at 72.0 nmol/L. Here in Alberta the – desired normal range is 80.0 – 200.0 nmol/L. I’m a bit on the low side, but not overly so. In US units that 72.0 nmol/L equates to 29 ng/ml. So, it’s still very close to being in the normal, or even in the optimal, range depending on whom you ask.
A few other people have suggested that my original health issues were due to a vitamin D deficiency. However, that assertion is completely nonsensical for a variety of reasons.
- I had lots of vitamin D in my diet leading up to my disease conditions. Vitamin D did not prevent me from getting the diseases.
- I then fully recovered from all my disease conditions by eliminating vitamin A, and not by adding vitamin D.
- There’s been a massive amount of vitamin D supplementation going on here in Canada, and in other western countries too and there is no corresponding massive improvement in our rates of the chronic diseases. And forget about seeing massive improvements in disease rates, there’s been no improvement. Sure, vitamin D is probably helping people cope with the diseases, but it is not completely curing them either. So, clearly, a vitamin D deficiency is not at the root cause of the disease. Maybe vitamin D is acting much like many of the pharmaceutical drugs, and is just abating or blocking the symptoms?
Most importantly, the very concept of a vitamin deficiency is what has gotten us into this giant mess in the first place. I really have no research interest in vitamin D either. All I know is that vitamin D has been used as a rat poison for decades, and that is an absolute fact. Next, consider that rats are the de facto model used to test the toxicology of drugs and other chemicals. Yet, somehow, we are supposed to be so credulous and believe that vitamin D magically gets a free pass on it, and supplementing with it is somehow good for us? Sorry, I not buying it. I’m going with that real-world evidence and calling it for what it is. No one can argue that it’s not a toxic substance at high doses. Obviously, it is far less toxic than vitamin A. Since vitamin D binds to the same “cellular receptors” as does vitamin A then it’s possible that it just blunts the potential toxicity of vitamin A. It may be that vitamin D only appears to be so beneficial in bone growth and maintenance due to it obstructing the osteoporosis causing effects of vitamin A? I don’t know. I am not an expert on it. But, we should be careful with it. For now, I’ll stick with my single-minded focus on investigating vitamin A.
Hi Grant — you may have already seen this article recently in the news. Here’s what I posted on Matt’s blog:
The doctor who really fueled the craze over Vit D has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from supplement companies and tanning bed associations.
According to a recent article, “rigorous clinical trials have failed to confirm the benefits suggested by early, preliminary studies. A string of trials found no evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk of cancer, heart disease or falls in the elderly. And most scientists say there isn’t enough evidence to know if vitamin D can prevent chronic diseases that aren’t related to bones.”
D probably has a certain role, but it may not be what we’ve been led to believe.
https://khn.org/news/how-michael-holick-sold-america-on-vitamin-d-and-profited/
Grant, first let me thank you for your dedication and for providing freely your research to the world. You might be right or wrong in the end, but I’m sure you are a good person. and you really deserve your family name.
I would like to know if you have a lot of people with “success stories” that are reporting back to you. And if yes, what problems did they resolve?
Hi,
As far as I know, only a few people have taken this theory seriously so far. Thus, no, there are not a lot of clear-cut success stories to date. There are a few reports from people who have made / or are making significant improvements with dermatitis / eczema. Others with improved mood, and reduced anxiety etc.
There are only a few people that I know of that have been on this diet regiment for say 4 months or a bit longer. So, it is still early into it.
I don’t want to be the middle man on other reporting peoples results (or lack of results). I think my forum is now working, so I’d much rather people report their findings directly.
Thanks for letting us know, Grant. It sounds like you’ve got the ‘A’ quite low now, so that must be a good feeling. And thank you, as well, Turtlegurl; I hadn’t heard about that huge conflict of interest with the doc who pushed Vitamin ‘D’.
Hi Grant,
I have a few questions about your original diet from the very beginning.
1. What specific cut of beef were you eating? Was there visible fat on it? Did you trim off the fat?
2. You said you eventually alternated between white and brown rice, but at the very beginning it sounded like you were just eating white rice. After approx how many weeks did you start consuming brown rice?
3. When you switched to bison, what specific cut do you eat? Is there visible fat on it? Do you trim the fat off?
4. Do you happen to know what brand of olive oil you were/are using?
I want to do the exact same thing you did because I’ve been trying alternate approaches to a zero vitamin A diet without success.
As always, your replies are very much appreciated.
5. How much beef did you eat per day? Just link an approx size (i.e. 4 square inches)
I eat about 6 oz per day. It was the same for beef or bison.
1. What specific cut of beef were you eating? Was there visible fat on it? Did you trim off the fat?
Roast beef, cooked in a slow cooker. I was not fussy about the cut. I did not trim the fat.
2. You said you eventually alternated between white and brown rice, but at the very beginning it sounded like you were just eating white rice. After approx how many weeks did you start consuming brown rice?
It was about 2 months in that I started with the brown rice. But, I’ve since cut back on the brown rice to having it about once or twice a month now. I made this change because either the brown beans are providing ample fiber, or my digestive system is just working better now. Also, the brown rice does not seem to provide the long-lasting energy that I get from white rice. I use the white rice brand sold by Costco. Traditional Basmati Rice
3. When you switched to bison, what specific cut do you eat? Is there visible fat on it? Do you trim the fat off?
It’s a mix. Most days I eat a single bison hamburger patty. But, for other days, if I’ve cooked a roast, then I’ll stick with that for as many days as it lasts me. I do not trim off the fat.
4. Do you happen to know what brand of olive oil you were/are using?
It’s the Costco Kirkland brand, Extra virgin olive oil. I now only use it for cooking
I want to do the exact same thing you did because I’ve been trying alternate approaches to a zero vitamin A diet without success.
How long have you been trying this for?
Grant
I’ve been experimenting for about 4 months, but never with your exact diet.
It started with buckwheat, macadamia nuts and red kidneys beans. Then rice macadamia nuts red kidney beans. Then rice white kidney beans macadamia nuts. None solves the seb seem but they seemed to control it.
I think maybe I need to get to exactly zero like you did. Thanks for the detailed reply.
Other people reported having trouble with the bean. Might be worthwhile dropping them to see if that helps.
.I am intrigued. I have several autoimmune disorders and a gravely ill son. He can eat very few foods and for about 3 yrs he ate a lot of white rice, but a hair analysis showed he had very high arsenic levels. What are your thoughts on the arsenic situation with rice?
Really interesting to see this article. There is a lot to suggest that vitamin D is, if not equally toxic to vitamin A, still considerably so.
I would love to see a chart of what you eat in a day. It can be done at http://www.cronometer.com. Would just be really interesting!
Thanks for the excellent analysis Grant! I’m very happy you have found a way to cure you’re eczema — I had no idea how bad it could get.
I like your theory that it is something in the diet that is causing auto-immune diseases, as opposed to something that is lacking.
In my 20’s I had mild persistent eczema in the crux of my elbows; very itchy, but not life impacting. One summer I decided I needed to lose some body fat, so I went on a low carb diet. Well….I thought it was low carb, but it was really a carnivore diet made up almost exclusively of Winkler farmer sausage, some sauerkraut and mustard. What can I say but that I was in my 20s and needed an easy convenient food eat. I lasted 2 weeks on this diet, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Within that 2 weeks, my eczema resolved itself and has never returned — a sign that I removed something that was causing the issues. My diet prior to this was basically pure junk food and fast food (chips, chocolate bars, soda, burgers, and fries)
What’s interesting is that my diet wasn’t all that high in vitamin A to begin with, and farmer sausage does contain small amounts of vitamin A that should have kept my eczema flaring.
Of course, this is all anecdotal, and I could be remembering things incorrectly. I’m just wondering if it was something else in the diet that I removed that resolved the eczema.
By the way, this theory lead me to perform a quick investigation of Canadian fortification, and the some of the reasoning behind it…
Some food fortifications solved real issues; which all look like problems of not having enough food, and a lack of dietary diversity.
Vit D fortification in milk helped resolve rickets in kids in B.C. Although it appears to be a lack of calcium that may be the real issue.
Iodine fortification solved goitre problems. Which is still prevalent in developing countries.
Calcium, iron, and B vitamins were added to flour, and vitamin A to margarine to try and resolve instances of beriberi and blindness on the East Coast. This seems like a shotgun approach, but thiamine would help beriberi.
Folic acid fortification in flour was recently done to help resolve birth defects. I’m not sure why men would need this too.
Vit A fortification actually seems fairly minimal in Canada; mostly for skim milk products and meal replacements. So if your drinking lot’s of skim milk, and living on liver, eggs, and cheese, then you could, in theory, overload on Vit A after many years. Canada stats indicate skim milk consumption has been pretty steady over the years, but overall dairy consumption has increased.
Tomato’s are also a large part of the Canadian diet – which could be an issue for many. Plus the seemingly ridiculous trends of eating massive amounts of green plants; which I don’t think occurs in the general population.
60+ years ago many people weren’t getting enough food or nutrients. So now that we are (mostly) a calorie replete nation, I wonder if fortification was removed from foods if the old problems resurface? Or are we now in a state of over-nutrition, and getting too many fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids.
What other micro-nutrients are we as a nation over-consuming; iron, vitamin E, calcium, vitamin D are all contenders.
Agreed, our American neighbours are being supplemented with vitamin A far more aggressively than us here in Canada. It is my speculation that is why, statistically speaking, we have about 40% less obesity in Canada than compared to the USA.
I think there’s more to the folate supplementation story than what the public has been told.
Why did women in North America all of a sudden need to supplement with this folic acid to prevent birth defects? When did the rates of the neural tube birth defects really start to surge?
We does every man, boy, and women outside of the reproductive years need to be supplementing with it too? Did you know that one of the big “breakthrough” drugs for treating childhood leukemia’s is a “folic acid blocker”?
Could it be that the real reason for supplementing with folic acid was an attempt to blunt the toxicity of some other food additive? Then, the downstream consequence of that action has been an increase in childhood leukemia’s?
It all complicated and interconnected. But, I think this practice of blanket food “fortification” for all of us has been a disaster. Another claim I read about is that we are all living so much longer now due to better nutrition. Well, possibly so, but our last 10 or 20 years of life aren’t so great anymore. Then, if you go for a long walk in an older section of a cemetery you probably see a lot of head stones for people born in the late 1800’s and circa early 1900 that lived into their 90’s and even past 100. Then go for a walk in the more recent sections, and you probably see many head stones for children born post 2000. Why are there so many childhood deaths? At least this is what I see here in Calgary. IMO, things are not exactly as we are being told they are.
Thanks for reading, and the additional investigation.
It’s true about the old graveyards. I noticed it in Ontario years ago and wondered then how so many people under adverse conditions manged to live so long and be mobile. It is actually jaw dropping when you do the walk. Plenty of things are killing us now.
Grant,
It’s impressive that you got to such a low level of serum A !
Gluten foods (when they’re not supplemented with A) are bad cause it acts as a carrier for retinoic acid? From liver or intestines? Do you know anything about milk thistle / sillymarin ? It is supposed to help liver functioning..
No. I’ve not looked into milk thistle.
Yes, I think gluten is acting as a carrier molecule. But not just for retinoic acid, rather more for retinol from the intestinal tract too.
Hey Grant,
Im considering experimenting with activated charcoal. I have two questions for you:
1. I wanted to know if there was a reason you suggest activated charcoal over olestra or drugs of a similar manner? Is it safety reasons or do you think activated charcoal may be more effective?
2. I’ve been doing some research, but I was wondering if you’ve come across any research indicating activated charcoal can absorb fat soluble compounds? I know it can absorb lots of toxins, but wasn’t sure about fat soluble toxins.
Thanks,
James
Yes, it’s for a safety concerns. Olestra has been taken off the market (as a food additive at least) in Canada. Olestra was causing anal leakage, among other side-effects.
Activated charcoal is very inexpensive, and has a long history of use.
Yes, I did read one paper where they specifically used Activated charcoal to remove vitamin A from butter.
I think the timing is important (guessing just before meals would be most effective).
Hi Grant, thank you for all of your fascinating research! It sounds very promising. I have a couple questions for you that I was hoping you could answer.
Where did you see that synthetic VA Palmitate is soluble in water? I tried to confirm this on my own but everything I’ve read says that it is only fat soluble.
Did you find research that gluten is a carrier or is that just a hunch?
Same for coconut oil, are you sure you weren’t/aren’t just allergic? I think it could be the oil you’re looking for, maybe you should give it another shot. Also, would love to know what research you found there.
And a personal question, I’m 6 months pregnant and would like to try the diet. Do you think it would be too risky? After reading your breast cancer ebook I’m officially freaked out about the amount of vitamin a in my breastmilk. My first had a solid case of cradle cap.
Thank you!!
Hi everyone,
For those who want to take a faster approach (but potentially riskier) I found a study which shows that cholestyramine reduces liver stores of vitamin A.
https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/16/2/93.full.pdf
“For the first 18 months of cholestyramine treatment, the mean serum vitamin A
remained relatively constant, but the mean value of 83IU/ml obtained for eight patients for the period 19-24 months after starting cholestyramine, although still well within the normal range, is significantly lower than the pretreatment value for the group (p< 005)."
"The maintenance of serum vitamin A levels in our patients for the first 18 months of treatment could be explained by relatively large liver stores of vitamin A which take time to become depleted."
What's interesting here is the patients were not on a vitamin A free diet and yet there liver stores were still being depleted. The combination of a vitamin A free diet and cholestyramine could make the process much faster.
This goes hand in hand with Grant's suggestion of activated charcoal, which is probably safer. It should be noted though that these patients were on cholestyramine for 24 months and showed no adverse symptoms.
That’s interesting. I see that it binds bile to prevent reabsorption in GI tract.
It’s worth considering that things which are toxic probably reduce liver vitamin a stores. But that’s probably because they displace it by means of being more toxic and thus necessitating sequestration. Glyphosate, for example, displaces vitamin A from the liver, but taking that wouldn’t be a great idea!
That’s a good point. I think in the case of cholestyramine it is functioning in 2 ways. First, it is preventing the absorption of new dietary intake of vitamin A. And second it is interfering with the enterohepatic circulation of existing vitamin A and removing that from the body via stool.