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2 years on low Vit A
Hey folks, I am a male in his 40s. I first read Grant's books in July 2018 and went low Vit A. At about week 2 or 3, I was already sure I have stumbled upon something important. It made sense and it worked, immediately. My biggest problem was bad skin, some slight but disturbing hair loss, general tiredness, low muscle mass. The good thing about skin problems is it provides a very quick feedback. Even today, with the right wrong foods I could inflame my now healthy skin in about 3-4 days and turn it into a horrible mess in a week and I am talking deep pustules that belong in horror movies. A blessing in disguise to have a quick response and it was a key in Grant's case as well, I think. I do need to say that I had cured my skin about 80-90% in the past two decades but a piece of the puzzle was still missing. After 20 yrs of careful observation I had a pretty good idea of what affects my skin and how.
Initially it all went so well. Started to have extremely vivid dreams, I had never experienced anything like that before. Skin was clearing up completely. I was a regular gymgoer and noticed that my muscles do not deflate between workouts. It was weird and at first I did not even connect it low vit A. I started to put on more muscle. My mental focus was awesome.
Then the honeymoon phase was over. My improvements stopped to accelerate. They just became this steady, slow trickle. Sometimes I am just amazed at my eyesight while driving at night. I run faster that kids half my age on my football team. People comment on my serene tranquility. A compliment from the dentist followed by a very low bill, a nice comment about my hair and skin from some flirtatious girl, people asking if I work out and just the general kickass feeeling that I can shed my clothes and walk on a beach without the fear of being considered an ugly monster. The last time I enjoyed that was in my early teens. I live again.
My staples are beef, chicken, rice, beans, potato, oats, bread. Tons of burgers. Some cucumber, some apple, some banana, some gherkins but overall less veggies in two years then in a week in my previous life. Yet barely any colds or flus (one in two yrs). Have not eaten an orange in two years. Or a carrot. Or any butter (knowingly). First year I did not even have a slice of pizza. Bread is tricky if I have a lot, it makes me tired. I would love to copy Grant's diet exactly but it requires a kind of discipline I do not seem to have.
My cheat meals are KFC. Not really high in vit A but very oily. I think I thrive not because of but in spite of KFC so I see it as a cheat meal. Also, mayo in burgers. A splash of milk in coffee. An occassional pizza with friends just to pretend I am normal. All in all, I am grateful for Grant's discoveries not just for my own improvement but for a general understanding of what ails us humans. The missing piece of the puzzle. Grant's researched only confirmed what I had already knew from my own laymen research into diet: it is hard to become deficient in a nutrient. When someone has an ailment, 99% of the time it is due to something being consumed or done to the body, not a miraculous nutrient that is missing. In health circles, people always are looking for a nutrient they might be deficient in when they should be looking for a nutrient they already consume - possibly a poison.
Many have asked about this special diet I am on. I no longer talk about it if I don't really have to. Most people think it is stupid and I am fine with that. The only person who took action saved her dog's life. The dog was almost put down. Blind and limping with a tumor that metastasized from his lungs to his shoulder joint. Vet said 2-3 months max. We went to a dog food shop and found no dog food that did not contain vitamin A. So she switched his diet to raw chicken and nothing else. That was 18 months ago. This lovely dog now runs fetching balls much to the amazement of the park's regulars.
Whenever I see a dog who is blind or has eczema, dementia, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, epilepsy I know it is a poisoning. When I was a kid, vetenerians mainly treated trauma injuries. Now they treat human diseases in dogs. Only the food has changed since my childhood. It now has a poison.
Thank you for reading all this and rest assured I already watered it down from a novel sized post. I wish you a lot of success whatever diet you are on and keep up whatever works for you. And thanks, Grant! Onto year 3....
Don't be afraid to give us the whole novel over time. I'll read it! 🙂
I've decided that my body really, really likes detoxing through the facial skin (weak smile). But I guess better than having colitis or something.
I like the points about "it's hard to be deficient". Interesting take. I suppose that idea doesn't work quite as well for growing children as it does for adults. But a good point nonetheless. Interesting that Weston Price's experiments were all on children...
@guitarhero Thanks for sharing your success. I am closing in a 2 years low VA, and I too see the slooooow steady progress, only wish I knew of this years ago! You mentioned hairloss, how would you say your hair is doing now?
@orion My hair loss has stopped. I still see some hairs falling out but there is regrowth as well so it is kind of stagnating now. My barber says it is improving but he is just trying to be kind. I did not have extreme hair loss by any means, noone noticed, but still it was really disturbing for me (where will it end?). It might not be connected but apart from vit A, I also found that frequency of ejaculation (sperm loss) almost always correlates to the amount of hair loss, that is, a period of busy sex life is shortly followed by more hair loss. I don’t know the exact mechanism, there are many theories, but I have found this to be true by experience. Bummer. Might be totally different for others though.
Quote from lil chick on August 31, 2020, 11:07 amDon't be afraid to give us the whole novel over time. I'll read it!
Same! Thank you for sharing your story, and congratulations on 2 years @guitarhero! 😁 I’m glad you have seen so many health improvements.
It’s crazy how much shifts within the first couple of weeks that you can be sure you’re onto something. That was my experience, too.
I really appreciate hearing about your friend’s dog’s recovery. I feel the same way when I see sick pets. My cat will not eat anything other than kibble (she is a strange rescue cat), and like you said, you simply can’t buy kibble without vitamin A.
Regarding your reply to Orion, have you ever gotten a zinc blood test? Or tried supplementing zinc? For me it is turning out to be essential.
@puddleduck thanks! I would think that beef has enough zinc maybe oats too and I am really not a supplement enthusiast but I am willing to give it a few weeks, just to see if I observe anything special. Does it matter what kind of zinc? I will order a month’s worth.
As for the animals, I think they will eat anything once they are hungry enough. but I don’t know. This particular dog had no problem switching to a raw chicken diet. He gets raw breast pieces and back and neck pieces with chewable softer, sinewy bones.
@guitarhero This is the form of zinc I use:
https://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-230445-thorne-research-zinc-picolinate-15-mg-60-capsules
I have tested deficient, so I take three capsules, but without testing I’d probably just take one. Right now, I’m sick and I noticed my deficiency symptoms start to flare up so I doubled my zinc intake and the symptoms went away again. Could just be a coincidence, but if zinc gets “used up” by the detox process (to make RBP), and being sick triggers an extra release of vitamin A from storage, maybe that also increases the need for zinc.
Haha, dogs are so enthusiastic about the grossest foods. It’s adorable. 😝 Yeah, I really should figure out how to get my cat to join the experiment. She’s just into the double digits so it would be nice if I could prevent her from getting the diseases of “aging.”