Vitamin A Toxicity

[protoject]

Hey there. Please check out my video about my experience with calf liver and vitamin a toxicity. I will transcribe it into text eventually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HoW5S-Ij1A

[wodgina]

Yeah I've feel sick too...it was that camera work urghh

[wodgina]

I really doubt your symptoms are from Vitamin A toxicity unless your eating kilo's of cooked polar bear liver! and 4 oz is a tiny amount, that would be the entre to the main meal for me!

Sounds like you've had classic detox from the raw fats/liver. Things often get worse before they get better.

Good Luck!

[protoject]

that was also a consideration and i hope it is so as then I could eat liver every day! I love it.

[High-king]

Vitamin A is the easiest one to overdose on. I don't know how much liver you eat everyday, but it certainly shouldn't be a whole one. I don't think any tribe or culture eat whole livers for every day of the week.

Anyway, hope your getting better 

[Raw Kyle]

I've been planning on eating a package (which usually is between 1 and 3 lbs) of some kind of organ once a week (while sharing it with my cat) and eating muscle and fat for the bulk of my food. I think this ratio would keep you eating about the normal amount of organs to muscle/fat you would get from an animal, protecting against overdose of certain vitamins and also against deficiencies I believe you would get from just muscle and fat.

[TylerDurden]

Thought I'd already posted here - oh well!

Just wanted to say that I used to eat lots of raw liver, and I found that, after a while, my body just quickly excreted the liver out the other end in almost liquid form, virtually unabsorbed, (liver is the only raw animal food, other than raw dairy, which gives me liquid stools). Never had a problem with vitamin A overdose, even though, at one time, I ate vast amounts of raw liver, early on in the diet. It's still important to eat some liver, here and there(every week or two?) but more than that's probably unnecessary.

[ANDREAS]

Hey there. Please check out my video about my experience with calf liver and vitamin a toxicity. I will transcribe it into text eventually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HoW5S-Ij1A

I have been eating  300gr to 600gr of ox, lamb, venison or chicken raw fresh organic liver every week for more than 4 months continuously. Because fresh liver goes off quickly I am obliged to eat it  in 3 or 4 days consecutively. Usually I add to that about one ox kidney or 2 - 3 lamb or venison kidneys and then I slightgtly marinate everything in lemon or lime juice mixed with some fresh herbs. I also eat about 1 whole ox tongue a week along with heart. I eat lots of bone marrow everyday which does seam to have rather immediate positive effect on the way I feel.afterwards. I 've been doing this for 4 months now since going into a RPD and I have seen nothing but benefits but if you ask me I too was very concerned about vitamin A toxicity but thankfully so far I haven't noticed any problems.
In your case I would try again from another source perhaps because it seems very doubtfull that just a week of consuming such quantity would have caused all these symptoms.
Did you make sure about the source of you calf's liver? More often than not calf meat that is sold in the market is produced under very unatural circumstances and the calf's liver is the organ that takes the brunt of detoxification.

[Guittarman03]

Yo, I've been eating TONS of liver the past week.  Something like this each day:  1lb : 0.75lb : none : 0.5lb : none : 1lb : 0.75lb.  I have experienced none of these symptoms. 

Not saying it wasn't vit A, but perhaps there are other factors at work?  I dunno, everybody is different.  Although earlier in this diet I consumed a good amt of liver in a week, and started feeling bad.  Maybe wasn't even related to the liver, just coincidence.  At any rate, I can eat a good pound of the stuff on a fairly regular basis with no ill effects.

Andreas:  I know what you mean about liver starting to go bad quickly.  Just to try it, I've been eating the same 6 pounds I bought 8 or more days ago even though its starting to smell pretty strongly.  I still have a couple more pounds to go, I'm feeling more confident that it won't hurt me even though it's starting to spoil.  I know, gross right? 

I do love liver and those nutrients. 

[RawZi]

that was also a consideration and i hope it is so as then I could eat liver every day! I love it.

    Hi Adam. 

    Were you eating the liver for more than the week?  Or only shoulder meat during the other time?  In the youtube you call the regimen you were following primal diet or paleolithic diet rather than raw paleo.  Since the liver you bought wasn't organically raised, aajonus would never have approved of that on the primal diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pietrosperoni/Primal_diet#Foods_in_the_Diet as written in We Want to Live http://home.earthlink.net/~welive/story.html.  Liver is an organ meat.  I didn't notice once in the video if you said you were eating the liver raw or cooked or whether it had been frozen or altered in any other way or if you just bit off chunks while holding it with your hands.  I notice you like chili.  Were you eating the meat with spices and other vegetables?  Were you drinking vegetable or fruit juice closer than one hour to the time you ate other foods? 

    Why do you want liver so much?  Just the taste?  Or the copper and other nutrients?  I think the idea of primal diet is to get basic nutrients, and your body will take it from there, not to load up on certain minerals.  I started eating liver four months into the primal diet.  Maybe I should have started sooner, but I never had any problem from it.

    I looked up a little on Vitamin A toxicity below.  I find getting enough saturated animal fats in my diet prevent those symptoms, but I see you plan to try that, to eat enough fats to 'clean' out excess A.

    I hope you're feeling better.  I'd love to hear.

This is a potentially serious problem. It usually occurs by taking more that 50,000-250,000 IU per day for more than 3 months. It can lead to dry skin, mouth sores, vomiting, and poor appetite. Eventually, it can cause increased pressure within the brain, headaches, and problems thinking clearly. It may also lead to an enlarged liver or to liver failure.

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Vitamin A is normally a fat-soluble vitamin. It occurs in nature as preformed vitamin A and provitamin A (primarily beta carotene). The carotenes are converted into vitamin A in the intestines. Fat-soluble vitamin A can accumulate in the liver, causing side-effects, but consuming too much carotene will not result in vitamin A toxicity. Thyroxine, zinc and vitamin E enhance the conversion of carotene to vitamin A. Water-soluble vitamin A results in higher blood levels, with less accumulation in the liver, and, though hard to find, can be used safely in much higher doses.

Laboratory tests appear unreliable for monitoring toxicity, since serum vitamin A levels correlate poorly with toxicity, and SGOT and SGPT are elevated only in symptomatic patients. More importantly, there is concern about the teratogenicity of massive dosages of vitamin A. Women of child-bearing age should use effective birth control during treatment and for at least one month after discontinuation.

Some may take too much vitamin A at once, absorbed via overdose (or by doing something stupid such as eating polar bear liver!) This can cause stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, and difficulty sleeping.

Signs & Symptoms
Chapped lips and dry skin, which may be early symptoms, will generally occur in the majority of patients, particularly in dry weather. The first significant toxic symptom is usually headache followed by fatigue, emotional lability, and muscle and joint pain.

Signs, symptoms & indicators of Vitamin A Toxicity:
   
Symptoms - General     Constant fatigue

Symptoms - Head - Mouth/Oral   
  Chapped lips
    Chapped lips and dry skin, which may be early symptoms, will generally occur in the majority of patients, particularly in dry weather.

Symptoms - Mind - Emotional   
  Emotional instability

Symptoms - Skeletal   
  Joint pain/swelling/stiffness

Conditions that suggest Vitamin A Toxicity:
         
Metabolic     Migraine/Tension Headaches

Musculo-Skeletal   
  Muscle Pains (Myalgia)

Skin-Hair-Nails   
  Dry skin
    Chapped lips and dry skin, which may be early symptoms, will occur in a majority of patients with vitamin A toxicity, particularly in dry weather.

  Male Hair Loss
    Vitamin A toxicity symptoms include skin that has a rough and dry appearance, hair loss and brittle nails.

  Female Hair Loss
    Vitamin A toxicity symptoms include skin that has a rough and dry appearance, hair loss and brittle nails.

  Night Sweats