a warning about vit a

Hey all,

On my home page I get daily updates from Livestrong fitness.  Today's tidbit was about Vit A.

"Vitamins with more than 2500 iu's of Vit A cause DNA damage and bone density loss avoid them".

On my last labs my vit A was low, so I started eating foods high in vit A, but I also started a vit A  supplement too (since rny'rs rebound so slowly), but since it's a fat soluble vit I decided to take it daily for 2 weeks then I went to 2-3 times a week.  After reading that I'm really glad I did that.  I'm getting my labs rechecked Monday so I'll be curious to see how I've done.

I don't know how much rny'rs are affected since we don't absorb things well.  Just thought I'd pass the info along.  Take from it what you want.

Edie

hummm what to do i am taking 10,000 iu's every other day??????

Just make sure your getting your labs checked.  We don't absorb everything we take, so I doubt we'd be affected that bad.  But I'd stay on top of it.

 Hi Edie

Do you have the link to that article?  I'd be interested to read their take on this.

I did find another article on their website that doesn't say anything like these stats.  In fact, they state that intake of Vitamin A up to levels of 300,000IU per day does not show signs of toxicity. (Although I think this might refer to one-time overdose situations based on other stuff I've read.)  It also states that beta carotene is the safer form of Vitamin A (rather than retinol).

My Go-To source for in depth info on nutrients and foods (World's Healthiest Foods) says that the upper limit amount for adults is about 10,000IU.  It also says that toxcitiy symptoms do not appear until after doses of 25,000IU per day over several months.  

Of course for WLS folks we malabsorb vitamins and the fat soluble vitamins are more prone to malabsorption than others (Vitamins A, D, E, K).  Notice in this diagram that the two spots along the intestinal tract that absorbs Vtiamin A are bypassed in the normal bypass length. 

Most multivitamins have about 5,000IU of Vitamin A and the ASMBS recommends we take 2 multi's a day.  And for DS'ers they recommend an extra 10,000IU per day right off the bat and RNY'ers and Bandsters to add based on individual need.  

From the World's Healthiest Foods site... here's a description of what toxcitiy symptoms of Vitamin A include:

In adults, vitamin A toxicity causes a variety of health conditions, including dry and itchy skin, dry and brittle fingernails, hair loss, headaches, visual changes, bone and muscle pain, fatigue, irritability, depression, schizophrenia, fever, liver damage, anemia, and/or loss of appetite. In most cases, these maladies begin to disappear as soon as vitamin A intake is decreased.

Pam,

I can't  get you an article.  As I mentioned it was in my Livestrong fitness section of my home page.  I have gmail and I can pick numerous "stuff", for my home page.  I have the joke of the day, beaches, national parks, Gandhi quotes..... this one is called "Livestrong fitness tips of the day" it  just says you can go to livestrong.com for more info.  Sorry.

But like I mentioned, with our rewired rny system, I don't really know what that means for us.  But, because it is a fat soluble, we do need to be more careful, unlike the b's we won't just pee this one out if we get too much.

You know what's funny in the toxicity's you mentioned the 1st three I had just because of rny.  I also had the fatigue, irritability, no liver damage, but I did have increased liver function test results, anemia and of course loss of appetite!  I guess we just have to be careful, aware and make sure we get our labs checked regularly

Edie

Perhaps you could help me out.

With my last labs (in Feb) said "Vit A (free retinol)" and it was 292.  The "free range" was from 325-780 (according to the lab worksheet).  Now - Vitalady's recommended range is 60-80.  Is that for a different type of Vit A?

I just started (this week) taking a 10,000iu of Vit A per day.  I had read something awhile ago about the dangers of too much Vit A so I was reluctant to start on it.  I thought I would do this for a week or two, then cut back.  My next labs aren't due for awhile. 

Thoughts?

Jody,

They called me with the results so I haven't even seen the lab papers to know what Vit A it was. 

If I were you I'd research it a bit more and definitely look up the symptoms of Vit A toxicity, because it is a fat soluble vit you really have to watch out for overdoing it.

Good luck,

Edie

Hey Jody - 

From your question it sounds like there must be more than one type of test for Vitamin A.  and obviously yours is low.  How is your protein levels?  A lot of times Vitamin A is connected to protein and when one is low, the other is too.  Vitamin A helps to synthesize protein in the body.  

Give your doctor a call and verify that 10,000IU of  Vitamin A is the right option.  There are different types of Vitamin A... so make sure you tell the doc which type you're taking so they can determine if the dose is right.  

Whenever you have a deficiency you should be having your labs tested more often.  Most times it's recommended that you have another draw after 3 months of treatment -- just testing that one specific vitamin, not the whole kit and kaboodle.

Pam