Vitamin A Toxicity

[Fermenter Zym]

Can you overdose on Vitamin A without eating adequate Vitamin D (like eating a pound of raw liver a day)? Are egg yolks, pork, oily fish, and sunlight the only paleo sources of Vitamin D?

http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-basics#clarify

[TylerDurden]

Stefansson described people getting health-problems after eating raw polar bear liver  which were warnings to get rid of the liver. I myself used to do a very bizarre experiment  which involved eating only raw, grassfed ox liver every alternate week, due to the cheapness thereof(2 pounds sterling per kilo), and, after a while, I found that my body did not properly absorb the nutrients from raw liver, and I just had some sort of liquid diarrhea therefrom. Point is, don't overeat raw liver, especially not raw livers from Arctic animals(too high in vitamin A)
, but if you do, you will get warning signs, so it doesn't matter.

[Fermenter Zym]

It's sometimes hard for me to notice warning signs considering I have a lot of shifting symptoms due to chronic infections so do you have a suggestion as to how many pounds of liver you should eat at most per week?

[TylerDurden]

It's sometimes hard for me to notice warning signs considering I have a lot of shifting symptoms due to chronic infections so do you have a suggestion as to how many pounds of liver you should eat at most per week?

Half a kilo a week seems fine. I don't think one can overdose on other organ-meats.

[Dorothy]

Zym - You say you have chronic infections. Are they systemic? Do you go on antibiotics for them? 

[Fermenter Zym]

Zym - You say you have chronic infections. Are they systemic? Do you go on antibiotics for them? 

I was on antibiotics for over a year, which surely helped curb the symptoms, but it probably caused plenty of yeast problems. I also was never breastfed as a child and was on antibiotics frequently for ear infections so I think that also weakened my immune system. Luckily though, just from eating paleo for just a few days I am already seeing improvement. I just need to secure a good source of muscle fat.

[Dorothy]

Ok - so you're off the antibiotics now and feeling better after just a few days of raw paleo. Nice.

I love frozen suet, fatty fish, avocados, olives and olive oil, soaked nuts and seeds and best of all the yolks of my well-fed chickens. Once in a while I get myself to defrost a marrow bone. Gotta do that more. And there there is my fermented home-made butter - but not everyone would agree with the nuts and butter or any oil being a good part of a paleo diet - that's just me - partly cuz I need much more fat than protein it seems and I like the variety and tastes. Organs can be a good source I hear - but I have to yet figure out a way to be able to get myself to eat them. Just chewing the fat on different cuts of meat can be good too. Avocados are one of my fav foods and eating it with fish is exceptionally nice I think.

[Muhammad.Sunshine]

Hi Zym,

Vitamin A overdose is possible.

Liver was a relished staple in my diet. One pound of liver a week was my average, sometimes more. After about a year I began experiencing headaches after eating liver. During a fateful feast of a massive serving of mature beef liver, WAM! I was hit with instant and painful flu-like symptoms.

I experienced pounding headaches, insomnia, joint pain, and nausea (especially when thinking about liver); my symptoms matched those of vitamin A overdose. Fortunately the symptoms are said to subside once the consumption of the offending substance (liver) is discontinued. It took about 3 days to recover. I continued to eat foods with vitamin A, only liver was excluded. Although it was a struggle, it was good to know that my vitamin A stores are full.

Keep eating as much Vitamin A as you like, and if you begin to get headaches especially after eating liver, you are probably reaching your maximum storage limit and can reduce consumption.

All the best.