Can This Vitamin Actually Battle Cancer?

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Over the years, vitamin A has had many links with the dreaded C-word. In my second article in the series on vitamin A, let’s explore how it might help you prevent — and even treat — certain types of cancer.

First, vitamin A could help prevent breast cancer. Over a five-year study, retinoids were able to reduce the risk of second breast cancer in premenopausal women. They were given a synthetic vitamin A, called “fenretinide,” at a dose of 200 milligrams (mg) a day. The nutrient may also help protect the liver from cancer. Synthetic vitamin A, acyclic retinoid, prevented the development of a second liver cancer and improved survival in a Japanese report.

(It’s never a bad time for good news on the cancer front. Here is a recent story we did on cancer survivors: Know Who’s Growing Old? Cancer Survivors.)

It was thought that vitamin A could help prevent lung cancer, the world’s most fatal tumor. But it may in fact be the opposite. Most clinical studies failed to show that vitamin A protected against lung cancer. Then, in a large trial 10 years ago, about 9,000 smokers and people with asbestos exposure were randomized to received a daily dose of 25,000 international units (IU) of retinal and 30 mg of beta-carotene or placebo. Unbelievably, lung cancer was 28% higher among the supplemented group. Whether or not vitamin A has a deleterious effect in non-smokers is unknown, but if you smoke it would seem unwise to supplement here.

As for actually treating cancer, there is one decent connection for vitamin A: Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). This is the most curable type of adult forms of leukemia and that has much to do with vitamin A. Over the past decade, the use of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), the acid form of vitamin A, alone or alongside chemotherapy has been standard treatment for APL. And it has had great success. ATRA has significantly improved the prognosis and survival for these patients at two years (55%) and four years (85%). The overall survival rate is between 70% and 80% now.

In this regard, that is one powerful vitamin.

Tags: Beta Carotene, Breast Cancer, cancer prevention, chemotherapy, foods that prevent cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, vitamin A

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

More Great News on the Cancer-fighting Vitamin

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In part two of my look at vitamin D’s (click here to see Part 1) powers of cancer prevention, I look into deficiencies in this nutrient before taking a peek at the first cancer it could help prevent: prostate cancer.

Deficiency
The only way to be sure that someone is “deficient” in vitamin D is to measure the blood. And that depends on the amount of skin exposed to sunlight and how much vitamin D is in the diet and in supplements. If it’s in the normal range, a person automatically has between a 30% and 50% lower risk of getting colon cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer. Only recently did we learn that a deficiency in North America is quite common. Especially in these groups of people:

– Over 50% of African Americans
– 84% of African Americans over 65
– 54% of community living residents over 50
– 38% of nursing home residents
– 41% of outpatient healthy adults 49-83 years old
– 32% of young adults in the Boston area at the end of the winter

Other than sun exposure, risk factors include obesity, bowel diseases, and problems with absorbing fat.

Prostate Cancer

The older you get, the higher your risk of prostate cancer. It doesn’t help that aging is also linked with less sun exposure, and a weakened ability for the body to produce vitamin D. Prostate cancer deaths are directly linked to low sun exposure.

In Finland, a study reported that low levels of vitamin D led to a more aggressive prostate cancer. Both low and high levels, as a matter of fact, have been linked with a higher prostate cancer risk. Therefore, future research will be needed to further our understanding of the relationship between vitamin D and prostate cancer — but, for now, having adequate amounts seems important.

The most active form of vitamin D is made in the kidney (it’s called calcitriol.) In the last decade, very encouraging proof suggests that this form may be a great addition to traditional treatments of difficult prostate cancer. Talk to your doctor about whether you should be taking vitamin-D supplements and, if so, what type and at what dosage.

Tags: Breast Cancer, cancer prevention, cancer risk, Colon Cancer, prostate cancer, vitamin D

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

The Vitamin to Shield Against Breast Cancer

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In my final installment on the sunshine vitamin’s effects on cancer prevention, we’ll look at how it could help shield against breast cancer. And I leave you with some important final thoughts.

*Read the first three parts of this series here:
Part 1: The Cancer-fighting Vitamin Revealed
Part 2: More Great News on the Cancer-fighting Vitamin
Part 3: How This Vitamin Supports Cancer Prevention

In the first national nutrition survey, 190 adult women with breast cancer were found amid a random sampling of about 5,000 women. This study showed that vitamin D could protect a woman from breast cancer up to 20 years later! Thus, proper vitamin-D intake at all times during life is important.

Another long-term study with more than 88,000 women showed that higher levels of vitamin D were linked with a lower breast cancer risk in premenopausal women. More calcium and vitamin D meant less dense breast tissue, in which cancer thrives. For postmenopausal women, getting at least 1,250 milligrams (mg) of calcium meant a lower risk of breast cancer than those getting under 500 mg. But here calcium and vitamin-D supplements didn’t have any impact on cancer risk.

A study from Norway strongly suggests that getting high levels of vitamin D3 from sunlight at the time a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer improves the prognosis.

Vitamin D’s protection might extend to many other cancers, too. For example, some scientists have shown that UV light and vitamin D could reduce an incredible 17 different types of cancer, including: bladder, non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, uterine cancer, renal, rectal, prostate, ovarian, gastric, esophageal, colon, and breast. More studies, as usual, need to be done.

I and my colleagues in the area of vitamins offer these five bits of advice about improving your vitamin-D levels and maintaining good health:

1. Request a blood measurement of active vitamin D as part of every physical.

2. Reasonable exposure to the sun in the spring, the summer and the fall is about 15 minutes a day. The best times are between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with your arms, legs, face and hands exposed.

3. After the initial exposure, apply a quality sunscreen to protect your skin.

4. If you do not get sun exposure in a day, take 1,000 IU of vitamin D through diet and through supplements.

5. Foods include fatty fish, shrimp, liver, eggs, enriched milk, and dairy products, and fortified bread and cereals.

Tags: Breast Cancer, cancer cure, foods that prevent cancer, how to prevent cancer, natural cancer cures, Natural Cancer Prevention, vitamin D

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

These Vitamin Deficiencies Could Cause Depression

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Vitamins overall have enjoyed a flurry of health breakthroughs over the past half-century. Slowly, we’ve started learning about their powers in disease prevention on top of the fact that they are essential to our bodies. Those with depression might want to know that not getting enough of three critical B-vitamins might be secretly causing their condition.

A quick note on clinical depression. You technically must have at least five of the following (and definitely either one or two) symptoms:

1. Depressed mood
2. Loss of interest or pleasure in things you used to like
3. Significant appetite or weight loss/gain
4. Insomnia or oversleeping
5. Feeling restless and jittery or overly slow
6. Fatigue/loss of energy
7. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
8. Can’t think, concentrate, or make decisions
9. Thoughts of suicide or death

Now, several B-vitamins are known to cause some depression and fatigue if they are in low quantities in your bloodstream. The most notable one may be vitamin B1 (thiamin), a nutrient that influences your brain and cognitive function.

In fact, interestingly, a deficiency of thiamin causes a disease called “beriberi,” which is an East Asian word meaning “I can’t, I can’t.” Fatigue, weakness, and lack of motivation are commonly experienced by people who are low in this vitamin. Along with depression, they might experience mood swings, uneasiness, confusion, loss of appetite, sleep problems, muscle weakness, weight loss, and abdominal pain. Beriberi is most often seen in developing countries, in alcoholics, and in those with an impaired ability to absorb thiamin.

Vitamin B12 is another likely candidate. Vegans and vegetarians who avoid dairy products and eggs are frequently deficient. There are also those who cannot properly absorb the vitamin. Your body absorbs B12 by combining it with a protein called the “intrinsic factor” and in some people there isn’t enough of this protein in the digestive juices. People who are deficiently low experience fatigue, first and foremost. Then, depression and anxiety take the stage.

Third is vitamin B6. This one is the most common water-soluble vitamin deficiency in older adults and in children. It’s likely that well over half the population doesn’t have enough vitamin B6 flowing in their systems. A minor deficiency in this nutrient may be causing your depression. And, along with it: skin problems; a smooth, red, sore tongue; confusion; weight loss; and possible convulsions.

If you have concerns about your nutritional status, speak to your doctor, but also consider a naturopath. And taking a B-complex vitamin supplement is more or less a no-brainer.

For another natural way to treat depression, read the article This Natural Remedy Shown to Battle Depression.

Tags: depression, skin care, vitamin b

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

The Cancer-fighting Vitamin Revealed

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It’s called the “sunshine vitamin.” It is the subject of a vast flurry of medical studies over the past several decades. No one nutrient has been tied to more health benefits and protection from disease than vitamin D. In this multi-part study, I talk about how it works, the risks of deficiency, and its impact on three cancers in particular.

First, in this part, let’s do a bit of an introduction to the topic. Many decades ago, a U.S. researcher made a very important observation. People living in more northern states had a higher greater risk of cancer deaths compared to those in southern states. Later, in the 1980s, scientists found higher breast and colon cancer risks among those living in northern states.

They proposed the idea that vitamin D could be responsible for this apparent link between the sun’s UV rays and the risk of both colon cancer and breast cancer. Since it is well known that people living more north are prone to having vitamin-D deficiency, there has been a lot of research in the past decade about vitamin-D deficiency, cancer risk, and lack of sunlight.

How the Sunshine Vitamin Works:

Vitamin D is absorbed and used as part of what’s called the “endocrine system.” Here is what happens:

1. UV light from the sun converts molecules in your skin into vitamin D3. We also get vitamin D3 from a few foods, but the skin provides over 90% of our daily requirement.

2. Vitamin D3 heads to the liver, where it’s turned into an active form. This transformed vitamin D then goes and circulates in the blood. But it’s not active enough, so your kidney soaks it up and transforms it again into the most active form of vitamin D.

3. This form maintains the balance of calcium in your body. It helps the body digest calcium, and also moves it from your bones when there isn’t enough in the blood.

4. Aside from that main role, vitamin D helps cells grow, keeps immune cells healthy, stimulates the release of insulin, and keeps blood pressure normal.

Want to find out the best method of taking vitamin D? Read the article, How to Best Absorb This Important Vitamin.

Tags: avoid cancer, Breast Cancer, cancer causes, cancer risk, foods that prevent cancer, how to prevent cancer, Is there a Cure for Cancer, vitamin D

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

Where to Get the Most Vitamin A

Wrapping up my four-part article on vitamin A here, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. I’ll show you where you get vitamin A to the greatest degree, followed by safety information that everybody needs to know.

Sources of Vitamin A

Good food sources of vitamin A include cod liver oil, eggs, butter, whole milk, sweet potato, carrot (raw), cantaloupe, spinach, and squash. On the meat front, liver has the highest amount of retinal, a form of vitamin A. Approximately 70% of vitamin-A intake is derived from dietary retinal and the rest comes from carotenoids in plants, which are converted to vitamin A in our bodies. About 50% of the vitamin A needed in our diets is derived from carotenoids.

There are supplements, too, including beta-carotene and preformed vitamin A (retinol). Many multivitamins in the U.S. provide 1,500 mcg (5,000 IU) of vitamin A, a value substantially higher than the current recommended levels. Since retinal intake of 5,000 IU a day has been linked with an increased risk of osteoporosis in the elderly, there is a trend for the vitamin manufacturers to reduce the retinal content to half the original (750 mcg or 2,500 IU). Talk to your doctor to see if you need to supplement.

Safety Information

This is an essential vitamin and safe if taken at proper doses. In rare cases, an overdose can lead to hypervitaminosis A, a condition associated with long-term ingestion of vitamin A over 10 times the recommended level. Certain people, including the elderly and alcoholics, are more sensitive to vitamin-A toxicity, which can cause dizziness, dry skin, nausea, loss of appetite, itchy skin, headache, and fatigue. In worst cases, overdose can cause liver failure, hemorrhage, and even coma.

For this reason, U.S. officials set the tolerable upper level of vitamin A intake for adults at 3,000 mcg or 10,000 IU a day of preformed vitamin A. In other words, don’t ever take more than this a day.

Several studies suggest that taking 1,500 mcg a day (5,000 IU) over the long-term can raise the risk of bone fracture in older adults. Many people exceed this daily amount all the time through multivitamins and such fortified foods as cereal. I suggest that you choose a multivitamin that contains 2,500 IU of vitamin A or 5,000 IU only if 50% of it comes from beta-carotene. (It should say on the bottle.)

For expecting mothers, vitamin A should be monitored closely, as it’s linked with birth defects. Pregnant women should cut down to 770 mcg (2,600 IU) a day, while breastfeeding women should get 1,300 mcg (4,300 IU) a day.

Finally, vitamin A does have some drug interactions. Speak to your doctor if you take any of the following: acetaminophen; anticonvulsants; methyldopa; any existing vitamin-A products; warfarin; tetracycline; neomycin; orlistat; mineral oil; oral contraceptives; and bile acid sequestrants.

Here are the three previous articles in this series:

Can This Vitamin Actually Battle Cancer?

Why This Vitamin Is Crucial to Your Eyes

The “Better Eyesight” Vitamin

Tags: Beta Carotene, bone fracture, carotenoids, multivitamins, osteoporosis, vitamin A

FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER MIX WITH THESE
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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

Why This Vitamin Is Crucial to Your Eyes

In part three of my look at vitamin A, I focus in on its impact on our vision. From there, I include a problem that often occurs nearby one’s eyes — namely, acne. In both cases, there is excellent evidence that vitamin A can truly make a difference.

Vitamin A and Eyesight

The most notable role for vitamin A is related to vision. There is vitamin A inside the retina. As a result, vitamin A may be able to prevent or treat diseases of the eye. Let’s take “retinitis pigmentosa” as an example. This is a group of genetic diseases that lead to progressive loss of the photoreceptor cells in the eye known as “rods” and “cones.”.

Patients first complain about losing their ability to adapt to dark environments, which is basically night blindness. Later this extends to loss of peripheral and central vision. The best clinical trial that has demonstrated the efficacy of vitamin A in this condition came from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

(Here is another story we did on this link between vitamin A and seeing: This Vitamin Could Cure Night Blindness.)

In the study, 600 adults were assigned to four groups:
15,000 international units (IU)/day of vitamin A; 15,000 IU/day plus 400 IU/day of vitamin E; trace amounts of both vitamins; or 4,000 IU a day of vitamin E. The results were conclusive. They showed that those taking vitamin A were 32% less likely to have declining vision. Those taking only vitamin E were 42% more likely to show a decline (if you can believe it).

One use of vitamin A that has been explored is helping older adults (whose vision may be fading) adapt visually to the dark.

Vitamin A and Acne

In 1982, the Food and Drug Administration approved vitamin A (isotretinoin) to treat acne. These medications include topical tretinoin, adapalene, and tazarotene, and oral isotretinoin.

One good study followed 300 patients with moderate-to-severe acne treated with either adapalene gel (0.1%) or the tretinoin gel (0.025%). The first, applied once a day, was significantly more effective in reducing acne lesions.

(Also, you may want to check out our story on battling adult acne: How to Battle Adult Acne.)

Tags: acne, eye disease, eyesight, natural eye health, Night blindness, Prevent Blindness, vitamin A, vitamin E

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

The Lesser-known Vitamin for Osteoporosis

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AppId is over the quota

Osteoporosis is a very significant health issue and indeed can lead to fatal consequences. The road from brittle bones, to suffering a fall and fracturing a bone, to being hospitalized and suffering an illness in the hospital, and not ever leaving the hospital is not a fictional one. Here I look at how vitamin K could help prevent osteoporosis despite most people not making that connection.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis and steroid-induced osteoporosis account for the majority of patients with osteoporosis. And, as most of us know, women are at highest risk for this condition. Here are five studies worth noting about how vitamin K supplements could help postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

1998: 45 milligrams (mg) a day of vitamin K2 prevented loss in bone mineral density.

2000: 45 mg a day of K2, as well as some vitamin D, increased bone mineral density.

2002: Same as above led to the same results as above.

2003: One mg of K1 a day reduced bone loss in bone mineral density.

2006: 45 mg a day of K2 increased bone mineral density.

In high-quality studies from 1966 to 2005, where vitamin K was used for six months, 19 out of 20 proved that vitamin K could help prevent bone loss. That is very impressive. Also, vitamin K2 had a profound effect on the reduction of bone fractures in Japan.

Osteoporosis can also be triggered by steroidal medications used over the long term. Vitamin K, many studies have discovered, works here as well. It could lower the rate of bone loss, slow down the loss, and even increase bone mineral density in some cases. Vitamin K supplements have also worked for osteoporosis linked with certain other cases: anorexia; bedridden patients; biliary cirrhosis; Parkinson’s disease; people who take bisphosphates (drugs for osteoporosis); and those who take leuprolide (a drug commonly used to treat endometriosis, prostate cancer, and leiomyoma.

In short, we must think beyond calcium when thinking about bone health. Calcium, vitamin D, magnesium — and vitamin K — are all critical in preserving your skeleton well into the twilight years.

Tags: osteoporosis, vitamin D, vitamin K

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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

Why Every Man Should Take Vitamin D

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AppId is over the quota

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found yet another health benefit associated with vitamin D. The sunshine vitamin has been purported to protect against cancer, asthma, fatigue, and arthritis. Now, Harvard researchers have this health advice: vitamin D could protect against heart disease — especially if you are a man.

A research team followed nearly 119,000 adults for two decades. Out of 45,000 men, there were about 5,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease over the study period. These were defined by an incident of heart attack, stroke, or death attributed to cardiovascular disease.

The researchers then accounted for a range of factors, like age, weight, exercise levels and diet habits, such as fat intake. They discovered that men who got at least 600 IU of vitamin D from food and supplements had a 16% lower risk of heart attack and stroke compared to men who got less than 100 IU of vitamin D per day.

Interestingly though, for women, there was no correlation between vitamin-D intake and cardiovascular health. It’s not clear why that is, the researchers say. One possibility is that women may have less active vitamin D circulating in the blood. Vitamin D is stored in fat, and women typically have a higher percentage of body fat than men do.

In theory, vitamin D could help ward off heart disease and stroke. Vitamin D could help maintain healthy blood vessel function and blood pressure levels, reduce inflammation in the blood vessels, and aid blood sugar control. But the researchers say more clinical trials are needed to prove these health benefits.

In the meantime, they suggest, stick with your doctor’s advice about how to protect your heart. You’ll also want to maintain a healthy weight, get regular exercise, avoid smoking, and eat a well-balanced diet.

To boost your vitamin-D levels and improve your natural health, get 10 to 15 minutes of sun on your arms and face, without applying sunscreen first. Sunlight triggers vitamin-D synthesis in your body. Dietary sources of vitamin D are relatively rare, but you can try these healing foods to boost levels: salmon; mackerel; and fortified dairy products and cereals.

Tags: Arthritis, cancer prevention, Heart Attack, natural health advice, vitamin D

FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER MIX WITH THESE
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There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements

Where to Get the Most Vitamin A

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AppId is over the quota

Wrapping up my four-part article on vitamin A here, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. I’ll show you where you get vitamin A to the greatest degree, followed by safety information that everybody needs to know.

Sources of Vitamin A

Good food sources of vitamin A include cod liver oil, eggs, butter, whole milk, sweet potato, carrot (raw), cantaloupe, spinach, and squash. On the meat front, liver has the highest amount of retinal, a form of vitamin A. Approximately 70% of vitamin-A intake is derived from dietary retinal and the rest comes from carotenoids in plants, which are converted to vitamin A in our bodies. About 50% of the vitamin A needed in our diets is derived from carotenoids.

There are supplements, too, including beta-carotene and preformed vitamin A (retinol). Many multivitamins in the U.S. provide 1,500 mcg (5,000 IU) of vitamin A, a value substantially higher than the current recommended levels. Since retinal intake of 5,000 IU a day has been linked with an increased risk of osteoporosis in the elderly, there is a trend for the vitamin manufacturers to reduce the retinal content to half the original (750 mcg or 2,500 IU). Talk to your doctor to see if you need to supplement.

Safety Information

This is an essential vitamin and safe if taken at proper doses. In rare cases, an overdose can lead to hypervitaminosis A, a condition associated with long-term ingestion of vitamin A over 10 times the recommended level. Certain people, including the elderly and alcoholics, are more sensitive to vitamin-A toxicity, which can cause dizziness, dry skin, nausea, loss of appetite, itchy skin, headache, and fatigue. In worst cases, overdose can cause liver failure, hemorrhage, and even coma.

For this reason, U.S. officials set the tolerable upper level of vitamin A intake for adults at 3,000 mcg or 10,000 IU a day of preformed vitamin A. In other words, don’t ever take more than this a day.

Several studies suggest that taking 1,500 mcg a day (5,000 IU) over the long-term can raise the risk of bone fracture in older adults. Many people exceed this daily amount all the time through multivitamins and such fortified foods as cereal. I suggest that you choose a multivitamin that contains 2,500 IU of vitamin A or 5,000 IU only if 50% of it comes from beta-carotene. (It should say on the bottle.)

For expecting mothers, vitamin A should be monitored closely, as it’s linked with birth defects. Pregnant women should cut down to 770 mcg (2,600 IU) a day, while breastfeeding women should get 1,300 mcg (4,300 IU) a day.

Finally, vitamin A does have some drug interactions. Speak to your doctor if you take any of the following: acetaminophen; anticonvulsants; methyldopa; any existing vitamin-A products; warfarin; tetracycline; neomycin; orlistat; mineral oil; oral contraceptives; and bile acid sequestrants.

Here are the three previous articles in this series:

Can This Vitamin Actually Battle Cancer?

Why This Vitamin Is Crucial to Your Eyes

The “Better Eyesight” Vitamin

Tags: Beta Carotene, bone fracture, carotenoids, multivitamins, osteoporosis, vitamin A

FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER MIX WITH THESE
POPULAR SUPPLEMENTS...

There's something that you should know about the vitamins you're taking.

Something that is so controversial and upsetting, that it could very well change the entire landscape of the vitamin industry.

More importantly, it may also be affecting you personally if you're currently taking supplements.

What you could be mixing with your vitamins might actually be making you sick.

Dr. David Juan is regarded by many to be an authority on nutrition and supplements.

He's been a practicing medical doctor for over 30 years. And when it comes to the dangerous interactions of foods, drugs and vitamins, he's got the qualifications to back up what he's talking about.

And that's why he urgently needs to warn you about a new danger resulting from vitamin, food and drug interactions that have already harmed others...

Click Here to See The Foods You Should Never
Mix With These Popular Supplements