Re: Check out Vita4Life! -- Vitamin A

[Guest guest]

The maximum amount of Vitamin A to take depends on the form in which it

is taken. The most common form, retinol palmitate, can cause problems

in dosages above 10,000 IU per day (200% of the DV). Vitamin A in

beta-carotene form does not appear to cause any problems at any dosage

level because the body fails to convert it into retinoic acid at a toxic

level. This is what Communicating Food for Health, March, 2003, page 1,

has to say about vitamin A limits:

" Vitamin A Toxicity

" An excessive intake of vitamin A is known to cause liver damage, bone

pain, increased pressure in the cranium often accompanied by headaches,

dermatitis (dry scaly skin), fatigue and hair loss. These symptoms

usually arise in adults after consuming 25,000 to 50,000 IU of vitamin A

or more for many months. Now, however, growing evidence suggests that

amounts much lower may also produce toxicity. It has long been know

from studies in journals that an excessive intake of vitamin A

stimulates bone breakdown and interferes with vitamins D's ability to

maintain normal levels of calcium in the Blood. Research continues to

mount that even a moderate excess of the animal form of vitamin A

(a.k.a. retinol/retinoic acid) may contribute to osteoporosis and broken

bones. Last year the Institute for Medicine lowered the daily

recommended intake of vitamin A to 700 mcg (or 2330 IU) for women and

800 mcg (or 2667 IU) for men. In addition, they set a " safe upper

limit " (UL) of 3000 mcg (or 10,000 IU) per day for adults. A UL was not

set for the plant form of vitamin A (certain carotenoids like

beta-carotene) because there is no evidence that the body converts the

carotenoids to retinol in sufficient quantity to create toxicity.

Retinol is the form of vitamin A found in animal products like liver,

dairy products and fish. It is usually called vitamin A palmitate on

the ingredient list of food labels.

" A new study of over 70,000 American women, followed for 18 years,

found a significantly increased risk of hip fractures with increased

intake of retinol. Indeed, those women consuming more than 2000 mcg (or

6660 IU) of retinol had nearly double the risk of hop fracture as those

consuming less than 500 mcg (or 1667 IU). This is consistent with an

earlier study from Sweden, where an average intake of 1500 mcg (or 5000

IU) per day was associated with a 10% reduction in bone mineral density

and a doubling of the risk of hip fractures compared to those who

consumed less than 500 mcg (or 1667 IU) per day. The results of these

two studies suggest that as little as 2-3 times the new lowered RDI for

Vitamin A contributes to bone loss and fractured hips. This means that

the new UL for vitamin A may need to lowered to 5000 IU (or 1500 mcg).

" Toddlers and young children may also be at high risk of vitamin A

toxicity. The UL for children younger than 4 is 2000 IU while for

children 4 to 8 it is 3000 IU. Most children's multivitamins such as

Flintstones® and Centrum Kids® contain 2500-5000 IU of Vitamin A with

75% from retinol. Add a few servings of skim milk, eggs, fatty fish

and/or fortified cereal, and you would put a child at 2-3 times the UL

of vitamin A intake. Consuming 2-3 times the UL of vitamin A may result

in weaker bones that may increase the risk of osteoporosis later in

life.

* * * *

" If you want to take a multivitamin or other supplement, look for one

that does not contain vitamin A as retinol. Many multivitamins contain

close to the toxic level of vitamin A which may interfere with bone

formation. "

Most supplements use either retinol palmitate or a combination of

retinol palmitate and beta-carotene because the palmitate form is less

expensive than the safer beta-carotene.

Ray Hooks

For WLS nutrition info, visit

http://www.bariatricsupplementsystem.com