I needed to disable self sign-ups because I’ve been getting too many spam-type accounts. Thanks.
Vitamin A metabolismo
Balance Between Vitamin A and Thyroid Function
Both vitamin A and carotene, like any unsaturated oil, tend to inhibit the thyroid, so it's important to balance vitamin A and thyroid hormone supplements. An underactive thyroid is more easily suppressed with large doses of vitamin A, but high thyroid activity causes vitamin A to be consumed more quickly. An interesting example of this biological relationship is that the same blood protein transports both vitamin A and thyroid hormone.
Does the perceived need for thyroid hormone supplements go up or down when vitamin A / carotene intake goes down?
I'm pretty sure that Jiri has mentioned some things about thyroid med changes, as have others.
I have some thoughts about this as well. My idea is that cells all around the body become less tuned in to many hormones etc during vitamin A overload because they have defenses up against vitamin A. (or maybe they are just unwell cells under attack from vitamin A)
Then you get diseases like hypothyroid type 2 (for definition of this, see Mark Starr) and diabetes type 2 (as Grant has discussed).
The reliance on blood tests keeps this "disorder" from being properly diagnosed... because blood levels of the hormones can be in normal ranges, but no one is testing if the cells are listening.
In Starr's book he talked about how, in the olden days, they would fix "hypothyroid type 2" by medicating to the symptoms and not to blood tests.
But even that strategy is unsatisfactory because you aren't getting to the bottom of the problem (ie getting the cells to listen again) to a normal amount of hormone. Flooding the body with excesses of hormones to force the cells to listen has it's own problems.
Another way that vitamin A problems and thyroid might be linked is that maybe people like me (who are the odd cases of people who don't seem to be putting on fat in which to store excesses of vitamin a) probably have naturally strong thyroid glands?
And so it is harder for us to make some excess fat to use as emergency storage. And so, my guess is that we (those with naturally strong thyroids) end up suffering more from circulating vitamin A excesses, and end up "auto-immune" faster.
Those with slower thyroids still get there (auto-immune issues) eventually. But more slowly.
This might help explain why scientists think the "vitamin A is used up faster in hyperthyroid" idea in the original post thread here.
Aside: It seems to me there is a set-point at which people's bodies decide "I'm not going any higher with the fat accumulation". However, some people (like those on "My 600 Pound Life" might not have a limit.. or the limit is so high that they perish before they reach it.
I truly think obesity experts like "Dr Now" of "My 600 Pound Life" might see better results (I've read they have a 5% success rate) if they opened their mind's up to Grant's theories. Even Dr Now himself is a bit overweight (but his body has a more common set-point than his patients). Look at Dr Now's face. It clearly has myxedema (the symptom of hypothyroid type 2 that Mark Starr talks about in great detail).
A question about the original post: is insulin also carried by this same protein? How about estrogen?
Dr Now of "My 600 Pound Life" (obesity expert).
Dr. Mark Starr giving his talk about diabetes type 2 and showing a picture of someone before and after being treated with enough thyroid to actually remove the symptom of myxedema.
Quote from lil chick on March 23, 2026, 7:41 amAnother way that vitamin A problems and thyroid might be linked is that maybe people like me (who are the odd cases of people who don't seem to be putting on fat in which to store excesses of vitamin a) probably have naturally strong thyroid glands?
And so it is harder for us to make some excess fat to use as emergency storage. And so, my guess is that we end up suffering more from circulating vitamin A excesses, and end up "auto-immune" faster.
Those with slower thyroids still get there (auto-immune issues) eventually. But more slowly.
This might help explain why scientists think the "vitamin A is used up faster in hyperthyroid" idea in the original post thread here.
Aside: It seems to me there is a set point at which people's bodies decide I'm not going any higher with the fat accumulation". However, some people (like those on "My 600 Pound Life" might not have a limit.. or the limit is so high that they perish.
I truly think obesity experts like "Dr Now" of "My 600 Pound Life" might see better results (I've read they have a 5% success rate now) if they opened their mind's up to Grant's theories. Even Dr Now himself is a bit overweight (but his body has a more common set point than his patients). Look at Dr Now's face. It is clearly myxedema (the symptom of hypothyroid type 2 that Mark Starr talks about in great detail).
A question about the original post: is insulin also carried by this same protein? How about estrogen?
In a cellular state with an energy deficit, the body functions in energy-saving mode. Therefore, vitamin A, copper, polyunsaturated fats, and iron—all minerals needed for a strong metabolism—are detrimental. What triggers this energy-saving mode in cells are diets high in fructose, high in salt, hypoxia, and high in purines. This can also lead to hypothyroidism. When in energy-saving mode at the cellular level, large amounts of uric acid accumulate, causing the body to collapse. Once you recover from this state, and with vitamin A and polyunsaturated fats, everything starts to function properly. Therefore, toxicity is a problem of energy deficiency.
Dr. Now yells at his patients for not following his diet. Are they actually following the diet and the body is staunchly not allowing the VA-ladened fats to emerge and poison the body? Many of the obese patients die. Sure, maybe they were going to die, the heart or the kidneys have been beaten for so long. But would Dr Now lose fewer patients if they were going low vitamin A? Is this the missing link for him?
¿Aumenta o disminuye la percepción de necesidad de suplementos de hormona tiroidea cuando disminuye la ingesta de vitamina A/caroteno?
En un estado celular con déficit energético, el cuerpo funciona en modo de ahorro de energía. Por lo tanto, la vitamina A, el cobre, las grasas poliinsaturadas y el hierro —minerales necesarios para un metabolismo fuerte— resultan perjudiciales. Este modo de ahorro de energía en las células se desencadena por dietas ricas en fructosa y sal, hipoxia y purinas. Esto también puede provocar hipotiroidismo. Cuando el cuerpo entra en modo de ahorro de energía, se acumulan grandes cantidades de ácido úrico, lo que provoca su colapso. Una vez que se recupera de este estado, y con la ingesta de vitamina A y grasas poliinsaturadas, todo vuelve a funcionar correctamente. Por lo tanto, la toxicidad es un problema de deficiencia energética.
Quote from lil chick on March 23, 2026, 8:04 amDr. Now yells at his patients for not following his diet. Are they actually following the diet and the body is staunchly not allowing the VA-ladened fats to emerge and poison the body? Many of the obese patients die. Sure, maybe they were going to die, the heart or the kidneys have been beaten for so long. But would Dr Now lose less patients if they were going low vitamin A? Is this the missing link for him?
In a cellular state with an energy deficit, the body functions in energy-saving mode. Therefore, vitamin A, copper, polyunsaturated fats, and iron—all minerals needed for a strong metabolism—are detrimental. What triggers this energy-saving mode in cells are diets high in fructose, high in salt, hypoxia, and high in purines. This can also lead to hypothyroidism. When in energy-saving mode at the cellular level, large amounts of uric acid accumulate, causing the body to collapse. Once you recover from this state, and with vitamin A and polyunsaturated fats, everything starts to function properly. Therefore, toxicity is a problem of energy deficiency.
Ok, but husband and I have similar diets, and yet he has myxedema and I don't. (but I poisoned us both as WAPF'ers with cod liver oil and other things)