Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, integrative physician and author is my guest on Healthy by Nature this week. Conditions like chronic fatigue, frequent joint or muscle pain, high triglycerides, a big waistline and/or diabetes are frequently a result of eating too many sweets and simple starches (which quickly turn into sugar). If you know of someone with those problems or just an incorrigible sweet tooth, suggest they tune in. Dr. Teitelbaum’s new book Beat Sugar Addiction Now! is the topic. Dr. T is also the author of a best seller, From Fatigued to Fantastic and is a really interesting guy.

VITAMIN A

Vitamin A is not a sexy, glamorous nutrient in the news compared to say, vitamin D. None the less, it is named a “vitamin” because it is absolutely essential to life. Like any other nutrient, it is subject to being insufficient, overdone or to becoming imbalanced by a competing nutrient.

Why it matters. The textbooks tell us that the body uses Vitamin A in several major functions. (Read about some of them below in a quote from the HealthNotes database.*) Signs of insufficiency include: poor night vision, frequent infections, dry skin and anemia. Vitamin A is important to immune function and to the health of the mucous membranes (like those in the bronchial tubes, lungs, sinuses and intestines). The effects of Vitamin A can be quite widespread and subtle. For example, the body makes specialized hormones from it that have a positive effect on the heart.

Common misconception. We often hear that carrots and other vegetables contain vitamin A. They don’t. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that the body creates from the carotenes in fruits and vegetables—if our enzyme systems are all working correctly and our thyroid functions properly. We get fully-formed active Vitamin A from dairy products, eggs, liver, and cod liver oil.

Potential imbalances. Certain vitamins share the same mechanisms and pathways for absorption, transportation to and uptake by cells. Also, like a teeter-totter, one nutrient may have the opposite effect of another. (Many times the symptoms that are called “side-effects” of a vitamin or mineral excess may well be due to a deficiency of the competing nutrient—not so much an “overdose” as actually an “imbalance”.) Vitamin D and vitamin A are a bit competitive. We know how important vitamin D is for calcium absorption and bones. Therefore, when I hear the theory that excess vitamin A may worsen osteoporosis, I wonder if the problem is not so much excess A but comparatively too little D. The reason I chose to write about vitamin A now is that I’m concerned about the reverse problem. With the new appreciation of the crucial roles of vitamin D, people may go whole hog with it to the exclusion of vitamin A and thereby create a relative deficiency of it.

What is a safe supplemental dose? Well, that depends on whom you ask, your age, condition and gender. The government recommendations are laughingly low as they are for most vitamins. The nutrition field currently seems to agree that while 25,000 IU a day is apparently safe, elderly persons and patients with liver disease should probably limit supplements to 15,000 IU per day. Studies related to vitamin A and the potential for birth defects are conflicting and quite confusing. (There must be compounding factors involved that haven’t been ruled out, e.g. how much sunshine or magnesium the mothers had.) A level of 10,000 IU per day is generally regarded as safe for women of child-bearing age, but some, like the state of California, say 5,000.

Forms of supplements: Grandma gave cod liver oil, especially in the winter. She probably didn’t know why it worked to protect the family. Besides the omega 3 fats and vitamin D, cod liver oil also contains vitamin A. (The liquid tastes a LOT better than you’d think.) That oily A is also made into little gel caps. Tablets are dry water-soluble forms of A. I use a tiny instant-releasing pellet that dissolves in the mouth because I have enough other pills to swallow. It only costs about 5¢ a day (or 2.5¢ if you take one every other day to stay at the 5,000 IU limit).

*Healthnotes says: (1) It helps cells reproduce normally—a process called differentiation (cells that have not properly differentiated are more likely to undergo pre-cancerous changes). (2) It is required for vision; vitamin A maintains healthy cells in various structures of the eye and is required for the transduction of light into nerve signals in the retina. (3) It is required for normal growth and development of the embryo and fetus, influencing genes that determine the sequential development of organs in embryonic development. (4) It may be required for normal reproductive function, with influences on the function and development of sperm, ovaries and placenta. Read more about vitamin A studies at this link.

My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book : Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

Copyright 2011 Martie Whittekin, CCN