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vitamin A

pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

i just checked it looks like it is impossible to eat raw and not get WAY WAY WAY more vitamin A than is “recommended.”

anyone have any insights in to how the requirements could be so low? i mean, i eat 1 mango and i already have 65% daily allowance. that would mean if i had two i’d be over the edge… and then add kale and it would be “disastrous” (approaching the ULTIMATE MAXIMUM!).

this seems nuts…

Comments

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    is there a danger to too much? otherwise, i don’t see the problem.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    My personal best this week was 1929%. I think the RDA is what is needed to prevent disease but I don’t see how you could go wrong getting it from food. Supplements…I would say you could because you don’t get all of the other nutrients that all seem to work together

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    sorry, yes bitt, that’s why i asked. too much vitamin A is said to cause birth defects, liver problems… the list goes on.

    i was curious if anyone knew anything about this…

  • i’d definately put this one to dr.d over at vegsource….... :o)

  • RawKRawK Raw Newbie

    hey pianissima—you can double check, but im pretty sure what you need to watch is vitamin A from animal foods only—called retinol. retinol is high in foods like liver and causes the maladies you mentioned above. what we are consuming in plant foods is beta-carotene—which is converted to retinol in our bodies. you cannot overdose on beta-carotene (there is not a toxicity level), but you might change the color of your skin (yellowish) by eating too many carrots (happened to my little brother as a baby). if im not right, im screwed too…only at 717% already today. ;)

  • I don’t think there’s any danger from getting too much of it from plant sources, as it’s not really in it’s actual vitamin A form there yet. Your body converts it as needed, so you can’t really overdose on it. Just make sure you’re not getting too much ready-made vitamin A via supplements or such.

  • Your body naturally gets rid of the excess vitamin A through urine so I wouldn’t be worried :)

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    aha. ok. that makes sense. thanks guys!

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    phew!

  • I think, as long as we eat all natural, our body will give us indications when something is becoming more or less. The more we are tuned into our bodies (raw helps here) the better we can listen/understand these indications. Does it make sense?

  • Saturnina makes some really good points. Too much vitamin A can be extremely dangerous because it can (in addition to causing other problems such as hair loss, liver damage, headaches, and bone pain) contribute to osteoporosis and ultimately cause fractures, but the sources to watch for are ‘enriched’ or ‘fortified’ sources, ie: Multivitamins with vitamin A, ‘fortified’ cereals, and animal products like liver and cow’s milk.
    People who eat a predominantly raw diet and do not take vitamin A supplements or eat processed cereals or animal products are at much less of a risk of suffering from Hypervitaminosis A.

  • worleyhimself2worleyhimself2 Raw Newbie

    youll be fine. its the synthetic vitamin A that cause these detrimental ailments, not vitamin A from raw foods. like naturallyfruity said your body will deal within necessary means like it was designed to do.

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