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Yellow feces
Hi guys,
by reading your comments on this forum, I noticed that some of you also talk about a yellowish stool color.
I am on a low VA diet since around a year, and now I have this problem, furthermore the stool consistency isn't optimal. I think that it could be retinol excretion.
I am also still detoxing parasites and metals, so I don't really know if it is strictly VA detox related.
Have you guys found a fix for this symptom? Or the cause?
Bye,
Mattia
I had been thinking about starting a thread on this, I'm glad you did.
There seems to be a strong association between yellow in my stool, burning on evacuation, intestinal discomfort, and other symptoms I associate with Vitamin A detox like headache, strange sensations in my nostrils/sinuses, and disturbed sleep. I'm not sure if the yellow is retinoic acid, but I suspect it is, and I definitely think when you have bright yellow in your stool it is a sign of getting Vitamin A out.
I've been on a low Vitamin A carnivore-ish diet for 11 months now and had yellow in my stool from very early on, but it does come and go in intensity. I was kind of constipated when I first started this diet, and I would see this bright yellow liquid leach out of otherwise very dark, solid stools in the toilet. Over time, I've gotten more and more diarrhea that seems a bit like bile acid diarrhea, but I'm not convinced it is for a few reasons (see my posts in Carnivore and Bile Acid Malabsorption thread if interested). The worst, most painful burning diarrhea I get is bright yellow, and it tends to follow nights where my guts hurt and make a lot of gurgling sensations along with gas (mostly odorless). On the worst days, I might have 3-5 bouts of progressively more yellow watery diarrhea that leave my guts aching for up to 12 hours.
I tend to think that these bad episodes are a result of retinoic acid "backing up" somewhere in the path of elimination (I suppose in the liver?) due to something slowing down the elimination process. I don't seem to ever get symptoms of cholestasis that everybody on Garrett Smith's forum are arm-waving about lately (maybe because I'm on low-fiber, moderately high-fat, high protein diet?). My suspicion is that this "backing up" in myself is the result of anything that diverts the liver's ability to glucuronidate Vitamin A (e.g. any xenobiotic plant compounds) and anything that slows intestinal motility (fiber, especially soluble fiber). In my case, it may also be associated with bouts of oxalate dumping, hard to know for sure.
Just to be clear, when I say yellow, I mean bright YELLOW, like the color of urine after you take a riboflavin supplement. I have had both yellow stools and very pale, clay-colored stools. Sometimes they happen at the same time, sometimes separately. I'm still not sure why I get clay-colored stools off and on...I've wondered if that's a consequence of oxalates or Vitamin A...seems to be associated with fat malabsorption.
I was on carnivore with no cheats for like 3 years total and never had any problems with stool. Maybe some sort of temporary gut biome remodulation is going on.
I've had a question in my mind since before Grant and that is: what happens differently in the bodies of animals who don't "convert" beta-carotene into so-called "vitamin A"?
Quote from lil chick on June 28, 2021, 6:19 amI've had a question in my mind since before Grant and that is: what happens differently in the bodies of animals who don't "convert" beta-carotene into so-called "vitamin A"?
Here is my own theory: These animals can probably poop out a small amount of pigments a day. Too much pigment in a day, and the guts would suffer, and these animals probably need to store the pigments in their liver or fat to be disposed of later. Since the pigment has not been broken down into two VA's, the pigment stays yellow, and I would guess that what is observed is a yellow liver and yellow fat, yellow bones such (like the yellowing of cat's teeth with age. Cats are an example of an animal that cannot convert the plant pigment carotene into two non-pigmented VA molecules.)
In storage and in detox, I'm betting that the broken-down VA molecules are somewhat less problematic than the still-pigmented beta-carotene.
Hmm I just read that so-called conversion is actually pretty low anyways even in good converters.
So, here we are in the modern world. Everyone thinks "eat the rainbow" especially those who want to "get healthier" LOL.
When you, as a Generouzer, cut back on beta-carotene... You can do housework and clear out some of the yellow. I guess yellow poop is a good thing and makes sense.
Personally I'm on the fiber bandwagon and think it helps clear the pipes and form things up.
Yes I’ve come to believe yellow poop is a good thing. Tan poop is not though as I think that indicates really poor bile flow (cholestasis).
Yes I occasionally saw that (abnormally pale poo, almost white) in my (VA toxic? kidney failure) cats. I did associate with times that they were eating *more fat than they could handle*.
They also sometimes barfed yellow liquid. There was a post about humans fasting and barfing yellow liquid, and often during these barfing times appetites were very poor. In my opinion, you want to buffer the VA's with food in the system.
Sometimes the cats had sludgy bowel, and I had to clean sticky butts. I really wished I could come up with a fiber for my cats, and I think that possibly in cats that fiber would have been the indigestible bits of animals *that don't come right up as hair balls*. Perhaps this is what the carnivores here need to add if they don't want to do plant fiber.
When a human has been exposed to poison ivy (which is a VA "on steroids" LOL) the way to get it off is to SCRUB like your life depends on it. Plain old washing won't do. You must pretend you have motor oil on your hands. You need *friction*. I think this is what fiber does for our bowel. It scrubs up the walls of the bowel to clean up any sticky pigments that are trying to "stain" the bowel on the way out. My guess is fiber helps you get rid of more VA with each movement.
Grant, I don't remember reading about whether you've experienced any GI symptoms in your journey.
Did you ever have diarrhea or discoloration (especially yellow or orange) in your stools after you adopted a low Vitamin A diet?
Yes, I had serious GI issues when I was sick, around the time I was just starting my diet experiment. Fortunately, it was one aspect of my health that fully recovered rather quickly; I'd say in about four months.
I don't remember having yellow / orange stools, but I wasn't looking for it either.