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Blog post about VitA 'diet' failure
Thanks, I think that's practical. Fortunately I didn't consume liver long term (I tried it briefly and it didn't sit well with me so I stopped), take Vit-A supplements or do paleo. Eggs however were my staple breakfast for years (like 4 a m0rning) along with cheese and some dairy. What tripped me up was trying cayenne pepper supplements for just two weeks several months ago. They made me look really red and inflamed and I think that was a tipping point for me.
I plan on re-introducing a certain amount of cheese after a while (maybe 6 monhs) since my body always tolerated it really well.
@chris-4 4 egg yolks and some dairy is ok. It looks like in your case there will be no big benefit to do any kind of low A diet. Just continue eating normal diet. Avoid vit A supplements and you don't need to worry about it. Vit A is not the answer for everything.. There is many other problematic things in the diet like iron, PUFA fats etc.. I would recommend donating blood at least 2 times a year. That will keep your iron in check.. I think iron overload especially for males is much bigger issue than vit A...
I had my serum retinol measured about 6 weeks ago and it was really high, I think the value was 67. So I may have more of a long-term saturation issue.
Quote from Chris on January 2, 2021, 1:55 pmI had my serum retinol measured about 6 weeks ago and it was really high, I think the value was 67. So I may have more of a long-term saturation issue.
Or maybe you need more things to help metaboliye vit A like B vitamins, zinc, maybe molybden? Hair tissue mineral analysis is also really helpful to learn more what is going on in the body..
It seems like we already talked about this, but I guess it was a person named Anika last time, not Mary?
It is easy for me to see why people would loose faith in the idea of VA detox because there seems to be two ways of experiencing it and neither is appealing. Some here (like my husband) see very little happen, and others (like me) feel they have detox cycles.
For me, I think the case study posted recently (gheeze, can't remember what thread) would be a very good thing for Mary, Anika and other non-believers to consider.
The guy took VA supps for many years, became VA toxic, got diagnosed by a real MD via biopsy, was told to stop supplementing but eat a regular diet. However, he wasn't on a REGULAR diet, he ate a low-protein diet, and at the end of a certain interval the MD found out the man still had VA toxicity. So the MD upped the dietary protein and BAM! the man started unloading.
Now, when I do the math, as a wapfer, I was definitely at this same level of VA intake (similar to the man), and so I believe that I'm VA toxic and just have hell to pay, and that is why I'm detoxing, and it is a long road. It took years to accumulate, and it will take years to get rid of.
I AM low-key and conservative about recommending, just as others here are. However, I do have so MUCH less pain (especially headaches, nausea and body pain) that when I encounter other people in distinctly similar pain I give a little pointer to Grant's site.
And I'm not on a zero-VA diet, only a lowered-VA diet. But very much less than what I was eating before.
Thank you for posting this.
I'm in a high frustration place with the low vit A diet at the moment. I started in the fall of 2018. Yes, I know the diet has been evolving and supposedly improving, but I haven't.
Initially, the very painful eczema on the backs of my hands cleared and my eyes became much less sensitive to bright light. While great, those were the only improvements. I gained about 45 pounds and stayed tired. Recently, the eczema is back and so is the sensitivity to bright light. I have removed so many foods from my diet, paid for blood and hair tests, consultations, supplements, spent time preparing foods the "right way." But none of it is translating into me feeling better.
I'm beginning to think it's time to just accept that I'm not going to get well. It doesn't matter what I try or how much I pay or how much effort I invest. I'm glad to know the author of that blog post has made some changes that are working for her and her family.
Quote from Paula on March 26, 2021, 2:47 pmThank you for posting this.
I'm in a high frustration place with the low vit A diet at the moment. I started in the fall of 2018. Yes, I know the diet has been evolving and supposedly improving, but I haven't.
Initially, the very painful eczema on the backs of my hands cleared and my eyes became much less sensitive to bright light. While great, those were the only improvements. I gained about 45 pounds and stayed tired. Recently, the eczema is back and so is the sensitivity to bright light. I have removed so many foods from my diet, paid for blood and hair tests, consultations, supplements, spent time preparing foods the "right way." But none of it is translating into me feeling better.
I'm beginning to think it's time to just accept that I'm not going to get well. It doesn't matter what I try or how much I pay or how much effort I invest. I'm glad to know the author of that blog post has made some changes that are working for her and her family.
What are you eating? And you don't need to spend money on any tests, consultations, supplements, or memberships, to be honest they're just as likely to cause more confusion than to be helpful, in my opinion.
Quote from Paula on March 26, 2021, 2:47 pmThank you for posting this.
I'm in a high frustration place with the low vit A diet at the moment. I started in the fall of 2018. Yes, I know the diet has been evolving and supposedly improving, but I haven't.
Initially, the very painful eczema on the backs of my hands cleared and my eyes became much less sensitive to bright light. While great, those were the only improvements. I gained about 45 pounds and stayed tired. Recently, the eczema is back and so is the sensitivity to bright light. I have removed so many foods from my diet, paid for blood and hair tests, consultations, supplements, spent time preparing foods the "right way." But none of it is translating into me feeling better.
I'm beginning to think it's time to just accept that I'm not going to get well. It doesn't matter what I try or how much I pay or how much effort I invest. I'm glad to know the author of that blog post has made some changes that are working for her and her family.
It's probably time to change it up then. Get to the grocery store and pick something that you want to eat and eat it without guilt. I was feeling under the weather today. I tried some celery I had on hand and the clouds lifted somehow. We want to lump foods by categories and create "diets", but in the end, all foods have some good and some bad. They only to know which sides wins it to try it.
A similar article to the original posted in this thread.
i have been on the Dr Smith version for 6 months. For the past 3 months, following 3 sessions of UV tanning and infrared, preceded by using a reptile light on my backside, the skin of my back has been agitated, acne, plugged pores, rough and itchy. I’ve also had itching on a low level on arms and legs that does not follow the patterns i used to have with histamine intolerance. I haven’t had acne in my adult life or any other skin problems.
this week, i started doubting. What i decided to do is to switch from eating beans to psyllium with pectin, plus eat more Kerrygold butter and not shy away from eating fat. It’s only been a few days, but I think there’s going to be an improvement. I plan to keep doing the “wrong” things incrementally increasingly until the skin on my back is healed. Oh, and im also increasing allithiamine supplement (and i take the supplements that Dr. Smith recommends including those he recommended to me personally).
Note, i used the tanning salon for 2 months 2x weekly a year ago with no problem. So, i know this is either or both: A) a result of the diet B) the prior use of the reptile light which was mainly on my back
My history is high Vitamin A and lots of “superfoods.” At the moment, i think i will continue to eat Low A and try to detox, but im concerned that my once beautiful skin will be permanently damaged. I have to do something to stop this dumping. I’m a fan of the low and slow approach, but finding the sweet spot is the problem.
The most important objectives here that could come out of this collection of N=1 experiments would be:
1. that lowering the total load over the lifetime is important and we need to define limits and healthy ranges for children.
2. Getting the research and medical community to start doing unbiased investigation into this.