Vitamin A

fteale

I have heard repeatedly that too much vitamin A is bad for you, as it prevents you using vitamin C, and causes scurvy. It's why polar bear livers are toxic, and I was repeatedly told in pregnancy not to have supplements with vitamin A in. Things like pumpkin always put me over my vitamin A recommendation by about 3 or 4 times.


And yet I have several times on here seen people cite things as "a great source of vitamin A".


So which is it?

alliebeck2

Pumpkin is high in beta carotene, which is pro-vitamin A; absorption and conversion of beta carotene to vitamin A is dependent on your body's current levels of vitamin A and beta carotene. The negative side effects that you are referencing are from eating too many vitamin A supplements. I don't believe you can get too much vitamin A from foods, because it comes in the form of a pro-vitamin (such as beta carotene), and your body absorbs/uses it only on an as-needed basis.

So eat all the pumpkins and carrots you want.

amandavictoria80

BUMP! I take a Vitamin A supplements and would love to know if I shouldn't be. I just take it for things like skin, hair, etc.

rml_16

I would highly recommend researching this somewhere other than a message board.

But, yes, too much vitamin A can be toxic. I do wonder, though, if it's similar to Vitamin D. Natural sources of D won't hurt you if you get too much, but too much from the supplements can be deadly.

Jorra

The RDA for vitamin A in female adults is 700IU. The tolerable upper intake level is 10,000IU. You should only be worried if MFP says you are over Vitamin A by 900-1000%

Check out http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=106 for more information on the benefits of Vitamin A.

Jorra

Stupid double post :grumble:

jimmie25

seriously, why eat pills if you could eat carrots instead great snack and NATURAL vitamins. and over here ie. carrots are SO much cheaper than pills... so eating veggies (for the A, eat carrots) is kind of a win-win situation.

bcattoes

Pumpkin is high in beta carotene, which is pro-vitamin A; absorption and conversion of beta carotene to vitamin A is dependent on your body's current levels of vitamin A and beta carotene. The negative side effects that you are referencing are from eating too many vitamin A supplements. I don't believe you can get too much vitamin A from foods, because it comes in the form of a pro-vitamin (such as beta carotene), and your body absorbs/uses it only on an as-needed basis.

So eat all the pumpkins and carrots you want.

Yes, this ^^ I had never heard this, so I looked it up. Too much preformed vitamin A (supplements) can be bad, but too much beta-carotene is not.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamin-a/