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View Full Version : Vitamin A


Raene
10-16-2008, 10:30 AM
When I go to nutridiary.com or fitday.com I see that I'm getting like 300%+ Vitamin A.
I read all over the place that Vitamin A is toxic in large doses, but they're just talking about the manmade pills right? I'm just curious now.
loodles
10-16-2008, 10:54 AM
I have heard that the vitamin A you consume in food is in the form of beta carotene, a precurser your body makes it into vitamin A, but won't make more than you need. You eliminate the rest. Vitamin A Palmitate, the kind that you find most often in supplements, is the end result, which can be toxic if you get too much of it.
I am not positive that you can't get too much beta carotene ... you know when you have to many carrots and your skin turns yellow, but I don't think 300% is at all risky. Just make sure you're not taking a supplement with vitamin A in addition to all the vitamin rich food you're eating. I'm not an expert on this, but that's what I've heard from vegan doctor sources, etc. Hope that helps.
annavon
10-16-2008, 02:25 PM
I have heard that the vitamin A you consume in food is in the form of beta carotene, a precurser your body makes it into vitamin A, but won't make more than you need. You eliminate the rest. Vitamin A Palmitate, the kind that you find most often in supplements, is the end result, which can be toxic if you get too much of it.
I am not positive that you can't get too much beta carotene ... you know when you have to many carrots and your skin turns yellow, but I don't think 300% is at all risky. Just make sure you're not taking a supplement with vitamin A in addition to all the vitamin rich food you're eating. I'm not an expert on this, but that's what I've heard from vegan doctor sources, etc. Hope that helps.

Loodles is correct the Vitamin A in food comes from beta carotene. My naturopath told me that you can't over do beta carotene because you body will release the excess it doesn't need, much like vitamin C. Also keep in mind that the RDA's are very low, just enough to prevent diseases like scurvy and the like (I think the RDA for Vitamin C is 60).