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1 year update
Just wanted to post my one year update after starting the low vitamin A diet last March 2024.
My main health issues over the years have been severe cystic acne, IBS, insomnia, head aches and depression/anxiety.
Unfortunately I have not seen any progress with my skin. I've gone through a few periods this past year where my skin has flared up really bad, with large painful cysts on my legs, behind ears and occasionally on chest. I continue to get mild cystic acne along my jaw line, but these typically go away quicker then ones on body. I have been battling skin issues since I hit puberty 15 years ago so these flare ups are not new since adopting the low A diet. Ironically the only time I've had clear skin the last 15 years was when I went on accutane 10 years ago. This clear skin only lasted 2 years before cystic acne came back, this time even worse then before.
My IBS symptoms are mildly better, but I still fluctuate between constipation and loose stools most days. There were also periods during this past year where I had excessive gas. Overall IBS has probably improved 30-50%.
Insomnia has not improved much and in some respects has gotten worse. There is usually a few nights per month where I can't sleep at all. This was made significantly worse by taking lactoferrin in the beginning. Right now my main struggle is with falling asleep, but still encounter sleepless nights a few times per month.
Thankfully the headaches have mostly gone away. These were getting pretty bad a few years ago and were very debilitating while trying to work construction. Hopefully these won't come back moving forward.
Anxiety/depression hasn't changed much and seems to track with my skin inflammation. When my skin is inflamed and causing me discomfort my mood is usually affected as well.
Overall I can't say this year has been easy. I am currently transitioning back to a more carnivore style diet after spending this year eating lean meat, beans, oats, apples and bananas. I will eat some white rice and fruit to help maintain weight, but do not feel like the oats and beans have been helping. I know a lot of people in the low A community subscribe to toxic bile theory, but the extra fiber has not seemed to provide any benefit for myself.
Do you use iodized salt? I was using that for a few months and started develop cystic acne which I never used to have, I do struggle with a few zits here and there but never the type that are so inflamed you can't even pop them. Switched back to redmond's real salt and it cleared up.
No iodized salt. I use small amounts of Jacobsen's salt, but too much seems to trigger my head aches.
I went down the iodine rabbit hole a few years ago. Supplemented with lugols for 6 months but it didn't make a difference in my skin one way or the other.
Quote from Janelle525 on April 8, 2025, 12:49 pmDo you use iodized salt? I was using that for a few months and started develop cystic acne which I never used to have, I do struggle with a few zits here and there but never the type that are so inflamed you can't even pop them. Switched back to redmond's real salt and it cleared up.
Like very small amount of iodine gives you acne? If that is the case you have some serious toxicity issues. Iodine detoxes other halogens from he body as well as metals like mercury and also iodine is needed for detoxing excess of estrogen from the body. Most people are iodine deficient I would say. Try some other sources of iodine what it does.. Really most negative reactions to iodine are detox symptoms. But if you have amalgams for example I wouldn't take a lot of iodine. Because you have constant mercury coming in..
I'm so sorry for your woes, Griffin. My most hated symptom (puke nights) took about 18 months to go away. Skin issues are hard because really they aren't like my puke nights, which I think of as "acute"... Skin issues are more "chronic". You detox through the skin and so in a way it is your body working on things.
Try to help all the other ways of detox. Also, could you have an infection on top of things? I have had problems with impetigo.
Have you read the breath book?
@jirijiri
Iodine does not seem to make skin worse. I've used lugols in the past, but Dr Smith recommended against it so I dropped it when I first started low A last year. I may add it back in as I do think its an important mineral, especially in today's world.
@lil-chicklil-chick
I'm not sure what kind of infection would be causing these types of cysts. I've gone down the parasite rabbit hole two years ago but didn't see any results from those protocols. It seems my skin is just always inflamed. I've been told by doctors I will have this skin issue for life. While I was hoping that wasn't true it could be the reality at this point. Grant has mentioned a few times how the damage from accutane can be permanent and my sebaceous glands may not recover to normal. I'm still hoping to see progress eventually but may have to explore other possibilities from vitamin A toxicity.
Appreciate the feedback everyone
Low zinc state seems to be the issue with bad skin for me. Low VA, and removing copper and iron and which should boost zinc is working for me.
Mega long thread here, but I am seeing real good results. Low VA for 6 years helped a lot, but didn't finish the job, removing Cu and Fe is.
@orion why that guy who created that HG7 protocol keeps saying that egcg chelates only iron? He is saying so much nonsense that fits into his scenario it is crazy.. In reality he has no idea what that mix of supplements does in his body. Not to mention that he is not talking about diet or lifesty at all like it doesn't make any difference? What a joke.. Like somebody said he is using drug like effect of those high doses to keep him from crashing due to his ridiculous life style. Other people who are eating very clean and do a lot of exercise crash very easily on this hardcore copper chelation protocol. THey go anemic/hypothyroid within days. I crashed just from 1 cap life extension egcg, 30mg zinc and 400mcg molybden every other day. I had blood pressure, body temperature of dead body.
Metals EGCG can chelate:
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Iron (Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺)
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EGCG can bind both ferrous (Fe²⁺) and ferric (Fe³⁺) iron.
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It may reduce iron absorption in the gut and modulate free iron levels in the bloodstream.
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This is useful in iron overload conditions but could be problematic in people with iron deficiency.
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Copper (Cu²⁺)
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EGCG forms stable complexes with copper ions.
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This could be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress, as free copper can catalyze harmful free radical reactions.
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Zinc (Zn²⁺)
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EGCG can bind to zinc, though not as strongly as to iron or copper.
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The biological implications are still being studied.
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Aluminum (Al³⁺)
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There’s evidence that EGCG can chelate aluminum, which is important due to aluminum’s suspected neurotoxic effects.
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Lead (Pb²⁺) (in vitro studies)
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Some lab studies suggest EGCG might bind lead, but in vivo (human/animal) data is limited.
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@orionorion
I had a hair mineral test done a few months ago. My zinc was at the higher end, but I've heard those tests are not always accurate. When I try supplementing with zinc it usually makes my skin flare up even worse. I found this strange since most people see positive skin results from zinc. I've also been donating blood every 8 weeks to help keep iron in check.
I have been following that HG7 protocol the last few months. Its a pretty wild supplement stack at those doses, but it does seem to be working for some people. I've had such strong skin reactions to supplements in the past that I'm pretty hesitant to try it. I still find it hard to believe people are tolerating such high doses, but I'm always open to new ideas.