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    Home » Detoxification

    Vitamin A Detox Diet

    By Catherine on October 31, 2018 Last Updated July 26, 2022 59 Comments | No Medical Advice | This Post Contains Affiliate Links

    Why people are adopting a "white" or low vitamin A diet | Butter NutritionOkay ya'll. Enough research has come down the pipeline in front of me that I'm starting question vitamin A's status as a nutrition superstar, but instead a necessary evil in which excess accumulation should be avoided (mostly in the form of supplements). And since I want to keep you up to date on the latest and the greatest information that comes before me, enter the vitamin A detox diet. The vitamin A detox diet is for people who may be sensitive to vitamin A or suspect vitamin A toxicity. This diet may be therapeutic for a very short period of time, but only for those who need it. Here's why...

    Vitamin A excess in the body is much a problem of developed countries due to:

    • Prescription drugs containing vitamin A (think acne drugs)
    • Carotenoids in essential oils (taken orally or applied topically to the skin)
    • Birth control pill use (increases vitamin A in the body) [11,13]
    • Vitamin A fortified foods (dairy + processed foods)
    • Multivitamins
    • Other supplements: cod liver oil, etc.
    • Anti-aging and beauty creams containing vitamin A
    • Sunscreens
    • "Healthy" diets containing lots of high vitamin A foods that are available "on demand" and not seasonally as intended
    • Overdosing on milk and cheese
    • Increase in liver consumption

    If enough of those apply to you, take a look at the following list and see if you can check any more off symptoms that are connected to overexposure to vitamin A:

    • Leaky gut [1,11]
    • Hair loss [9,11]
    • Thyroid issues [2,11]
    • Low vitamin D [3,11]
    • Low vitamin B12 + folate [6,7,11]
    • Fatigue
    • Eczema/skin issues [4,12]
    • Inflammation
    • Anxiety/depression [14,11]
    • Iron overload

    Alright, if I have your attention by now, go ahead and hop over and read my post all about vitamin A toxicity here or go the lazy route and read my summary below...

    Vitamin A Toxicity

    There is a very interesting and compelling theory circling the internet that vitamin A and it’s plant precursor, carotenoids, may not be a vitamin after all, but instead a toxin that is harmless at low levels but has a tipping point when it’s storage in the liver is exhausted. The theory originates from Grant Genereux, who contends that vitamin A toxicity happens at far, far lower levels than documented in the literature and is a cause of body-wide poisoning and perhaps the real cause of autoimmune disease.

    You see, 90% of vitamin A is stored in your liver, and released into the bloodstream on a as-needed basis. But what happens when your liver’s storage capacity is full? The theory assumes that when the liver is already overwhelmed by vitamin A, it accumulates in tissues and fat storage leading to systematic inflammation, most specifically noted in changes to the skin, bones, and vision (read more here).

    The Vitamin A Detox Diet Specifics

    Now let's get into the vitamin A detox diet. The goal here is to take in less vitamin A than your body is actually using, so over time vitamin A storage levels in the body drop to a healthier level. Supposedly, the ideal time frame for this diet is 3 months.

    Here's the big "no list:"

    • Dairy (other than butter and ghee)
    • Liver
    • Egg yolks (whites are okay)
    • Most colorful vegetables (think orange + red specifically and dark green for their high carotenoid, or pro-vitamin A content)
    • Multivitamins
    • Vitamin A containing supplements (liver, cod liver oil, etc.)
    • Any skin product or essential oil that is high in vitamin A or carotenoids

    The basics of the low vitamin A diet is pretty easy. You're not restricting anything too important (ie. calories, carbs, proteins, or fats), instead you're just strategically weeding out foods that are naturally or synthetically engineered to have high levels of vitamin A. Because vitamin A carotenoids tend to give food their color, foods without vitamin A tend to be on the whiter side.

    Even better perhaps, is this diet is NOT geared at weight loss. Instead it's targeting at increasing health (by reducing toxicity in the body). But, as you know, weight loss can be a natural byproduct of getting healthy....

    Here's the basics of the vitamin A detox diet or what I'm calling the "white diet" due to white foods naturally being the lowest in vitamin A.

    To oversimplify, a low vitamin A or a vitamin A detox diet is going to include a lot of "white foods", but not exclusively:

    Proteins

    • beef
    • chicken
    • turkey
    • bison
    • select seafood (pink seafood like salmon and shrimp contain the most vitamin A)

    Fats

    • butter
    • olive oil
    • coconut oil
    • coconut milk
    • dark chocolate (not milk chocolate)

    Vegetables (remove peels if they are colorful)

    • cauliflower
    • parsnips
    • white potatoes
    • zucchini
    • cucumber
    • onions
    • garlic
    • white carrots

    Fruits (peeled is preferred)

    • apples
    • pears
    • bananas
    • raisins
    • dried cranberries
    • pineapple
    • blueberries
    • raspberries
    • kiwi
    • strawberries
    • lemons/limes

    Grains (organic ONLY, glyphosate found in inorganic grains may exacerbate the vitamin A issue) [11]

    • oats
    • white rice
    • slow fermented sourdough bread (organic only!)
    • quinoa
    • amaranth
    • other gluten-free organic grains

    Legumes

    • all beans except green beans, peas and mung beans

    Nuts

    • most nuts

    Other

    • Alcohol (in moderation shows to help remove vitamin A) [8,11]
    • Spices - keep in mind vitamin A content and the quantity used.

    Beyond that, it's pretty easy to lookup a food  (here) and get a general feel for how much vitamin A it contains.

    That's the very oversimplified basics of the vitamin A detox diet. According to Genereux, the originator of the most strict form of the diet, three months is a good time frame to detox vitamin A. But of course check with your doctor or healthcare practitioner before trying anything you read here (or anywhere on the internet) on yourself, because that would be just plain risky.

    And one last reminder — this is only meant for people who have documented hypervitaminosis A or have overdosed in the form of supplements. Excluding a wide variety of foods from your diet is not something one should do without a very good reason.

    Have you ever tried a vitamin A detox diet? Please share in the comments!

    PIN IT:

    Why people are going on the "white" diet | Butter Nutrition

    Why people are going on the "white" diet | Butter Nutrition

    References:

    1. Retinoic acid-primed human dendritic cells inhibit Th9 cells and induce Th1/Th17 cell differentiation. 2016. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26980802
    2. Retinoic acid effects on thyroid function of female rats. 2009. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19233213
    3. All-trans retinoic acid antagonizes the action of calciferol and its active metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, in rats." 2005. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15987844
    4. Psoriasis and vitamin A. Plasma transport and skin content of retinol, dehydroretinol and carotenoids in adult patients versus healthy controls. 1985. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4096526
    5. Epigenetic changes
    6. Decreased Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Concentrations in Acne Patients After Isotretinoin Therapy: A Controlled Study. 2014. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4248518/
    7. Effect of isotretinoin treatment on plasma holotranscobalamin, vitamin B12, folic acid, and homocysteine levels: non-controlled study. 2011. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22098008
    8. The Adverse Effects of Alcohol on Vitamin A Metabolism. 2012 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367262/
    9. Diet and hair loss: effects of nutrient deficiency and supplement use. 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315033/
    10. Co-adjuvant effects of retinoic acid and IL-15 induce inflammatory immunity to dietary antigens. 2011. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3076739/
    11. nutritionrestored.com
    12. https://ggenereux.blog/
    13. Vitamin A, Pregnancy, and Oral Contraceptives. 1974. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1632878/
    14. The neurotoxic effects of vitamin A and retinoids. 2015. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201520140677

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    About Catherine

    Hi there! I’m Catherine Crow. Seattle-based Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP), Educator, Diet Investigator, and Coconut Milk Ice Cream Enthusiast. My goal is to help guide you to improve your nutrition through strategic eating (not dieting) and without expensive supplements. Because when you know better, you can feel better! Read more...

    Free Report: How To Reverse A Slow Metabolism

    When your body decides to slow your metabolism it’s all about one thing: survival! It’s not about your body trying to conspire against you and ruin your life. It’s your body making a wise decision to sacrifice long-term health for short-term survival because it’s being told to do so (usually through food/nutrient scarcity). The slowing of the metabolism allows your body to go longer on less food. The body also tends to hold on to fat as a protective mechanism, which isn't exactly what most people are going for! Ready to learn what is slowing your metabolism and what you can do about it? Subscribe below to get access to my FREE Metabolism Report: Why Your Metabolism Was Fast, But Now It's Slow:

    Affiliate Link Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Please note: using an affiliate link does not change the price of the product, instead the seller pays Butter Nutrition a small commission. My thoughts on these products are my own.

    Paid Endorsement Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Sophie

      November 19, 2018 at 1:44 pm

      Thanks for this post. I've been having increase joint pain and fatigue lately while trying to eat more healthy (more fruit and vegetables) I have other symptoms as well that line up with vitamin a toxicity so Im considering trying this diet.
      I've read that sunshine, exercise and antioxidants such as found in turmeric, pineapple and grapes help with detoxing as well as vitamin c and zinc.
      I'm thinking herbs such as burdock might be helpful too? Are there other things that help the detox process and reduce potential detox symptoms?

      Reply
      • Arie

        December 20, 2018 at 3:40 pm

        Sophie— I started on this diet about 3 weeks ago. One thing I had to cut out was the supplement recommended and sold by my doctor which includes turmeric. It’s supposed to be anti inflammatory but turmeric is a form a carotene. Check into it.

        Reply
        • Rich

          January 13, 2019 at 8:52 pm

          I had this same suspicion about turmeric because it is an orange root, but it turns out turmeric contains no vitamin A at all:
          http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78#nutritionalprofile

          When I was on vitamin A elimination diet I could not tolerate any vitamin A food at all. Even a teaspoon of olive oil, or a few pieces of broccoli caused 4 hours of bad nausea. But I could take an extremely high dose curcumin supplement (Curcum-evail) with no problem.

          Reply
          • Marcia

            April 18, 2022 at 11:53 am

            Olive oil doesn't have any vitamin A. Ahh, the power of the mind.

            Reply
            • Bonnie

              July 14, 2022 at 10:19 pm

              No, not because there is Vitamin A in olive oil. Copying from his public book, "Extinguishing the Fires of Hell" ...However, it is
              critically important not to overdo it on the olive oil or almonds. Both are
              quite high in vitamin E, and this too can become toxic at too high a level.
              Vitamin E is also documented to cause an increase in serum
              vitamin A levels too.

    2. Ben

      November 22, 2018 at 3:54 pm

      I read his book. you have a lot more foods allowed than him. Wouldnt the fruit and butter have vitamin a or precursors?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        November 23, 2018 at 12:33 pm

        Hi Ben,

        Grant takes a strict no-vitamin A diet approach, which is different from the more practical low vitamin A diet I'm discussing here. Some of the color in fruits come from carotenoids (ie. mango), but some of it also comes from Polyphenols/cyanidins/anthocyanins.

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply
    3. Ben

      November 23, 2018 at 2:46 pm

      Thank you for responding Catherine

      Reply
    4. Kristina

      November 28, 2018 at 2:59 pm

      Low fat dairy should be ok.. Isn't vitamin A removed with the fat?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        November 28, 2018 at 6:24 pm

        No - synthetic vitamin A + D is typically added to low fat dairy products.

        When you remove the fat, it is required by law to add synthetic nutrients in.

        “We are required by law to add vitamins to all of our fluid skim / fat free / nonfat milk, fluid lowfat (1%) milks, and fluid reduced-fat (2%) milks. These vitamins are fat soluble and a certain amount of them are lost when the fat levels in milk are reduced.” -Organic Valley

        Reply
        • Kristina

          November 29, 2018 at 1:27 am

          I think they don't do it in Europe. It seems it's country specific. Here in UK low fat milk is just that. Nothing is added to it.. Not even vitamin D. As far as I know.

          Reply
    5. Ben

      November 29, 2018 at 2:09 pm

      We don't fortify milk with vitamins in Australia.. Does that mean our low fat milk would be ok?

      Reply
    6. Susan

      December 04, 2018 at 6:25 am

      Thank you for writing about this! I’’ve been following Dr. Peat for 7 years and fibromyalgia had finally become unbearable. I read Grant’s books and am on my 4th day of A detox. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how quickly many of my symptoms are improving. Sharing your article with family and posting on FB.

      Reply
      • Catherine

        December 04, 2018 at 9:52 am

        You are very welcome. Keep us posted.

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply
      • Amanda Rode

        January 20, 2020 at 7:05 pm

        Hi Susan!

        I have fibromyalgia and been on peat for a few years now and not improving.... lately i feel worse but its also winter. Can you share if you have cured your fibro with a no A diet and what do u eat now?

        Reply
    7. A

      December 06, 2018 at 3:56 pm

      Vitamin A is in dairy fat, isn't it? And butter is basically dairy fat, why is it allowed?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        December 09, 2018 at 12:01 pm

        From the research that I've seen, butter has other protective qualities that helps mitigate the vitamin A it contains.

        Reply
    8. Cari Poindexter

      December 06, 2018 at 7:31 pm

      So do you no longer support Ray Peats dietary recommendations? Vitamin A is essential for hormonal balance.

      Reply
      • Catherine

        December 09, 2018 at 12:03 pm

        My views on some things are changing based on new information I've seen.

        Reply
        • Xisca

          February 17, 2019 at 4:47 am

          So glad! Advise to Peat followers: try to find white carrots! Then think about the % of the liver to the rest of the animal, and ask Peat about this!
          About sweet potatoes: they are not all orange. Some varieties are white.
          Are there caroten analysis about this? I could not find... What a pity again...
          We can also find white tomatoes with no carotens/lycopens.

          Reply
          • Nathan

            October 09, 2019 at 10:35 am

            I would also like to know about the white flesh sweet potato. is that okay?

            Reply
    9. Jess

      December 08, 2018 at 6:19 pm

      How much carotenoids are in essential oils? I understand this varies depending on the oil, but do you have any examples?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        December 09, 2018 at 12:00 pm

        Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that kind of data. The best guess would be to look up the plant that it oil came from and go from there.

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply
        • Xisca

          February 17, 2019 at 4:42 am

          I could not find either.... What a pity! So the question is: How do we know that there are carotenoids in E.O.? Is this so sure?

          Reply
    10. Abe

      December 13, 2018 at 11:50 am

      Isn't strawberries high in vitamins A?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        December 14, 2018 at 10:15 am

        Not from my research: 18iu (0% daily value) per one cup serving. https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2064/2

        Reply
    11. Simon Templar

      December 31, 2018 at 11:23 pm

      Interesting article:

      Those Ticking Time Bombs Going Off Are WAPF People Dying Too Young
      http://davidgumpert.com/those-ticking-time-bombs-going-off-are-wapf-people-dying-too-young

      Comment by Dr. Garrett Smith:

      http://davidgumpert.com/those-ticking-time-bombs-going-off-are-wapf-people-dying-too-young#comment-64648

      Reply
    12. Lindsay

      January 14, 2019 at 1:16 pm

      I can’t find his no vitamin A diet - do you know what it is?

      Reply
    13. Charles

      February 05, 2019 at 7:57 am

      If a food label says "Vit A - 0%", would it be ok to include in the diet even though it could still contain a small amount of Vitamin A? White tuna in water for example - would help make the diet easier for me to do...

      Reply
      • Ian

        May 15, 2019 at 3:00 pm

        It really depends upon your response to vitamin A (and other retinoids) - I get IBS gut pain if I have the tiniest amount of retinoids. I generally recommend a short (3-5 week) strict zero VA diet (like Grant Genereux's) and then start testing to see what works and doesn't for you. I keep going back to beef and white rice as my core food, with occasional, careful, excursions into other foods.
        0% sometimes means almost 1%, which can be too much for me.

        Reply
    14. Dayna

      February 10, 2019 at 8:25 pm

      Thank you for this more definitive list. Grant's diet seemed too hard for me to follow, so I've been looking for a few more low VitA things for variety and nutrition.

      I have had intracranial hypertension since October 2016 and after a lot of reading, have decided to do a low vitamin A diet for a few months to see if chronic vitamin A toxicity is the cause. This is my last ditch effort to avoid having a shunt inserted in my brain to try and relieve the constant pressure and pain. I have light sensitivity, difficulty thinking, eye and sinus pressure, an all over body ache in my bones (not joints) and constant pain like my brain is being squashed like a stress ball.

      I took a multivitamin for years, but when my symptoms got worse, I stopped it. At my worst last year, I was so nauseous that I ate a a pretty much white diet (potato hash browns, banana and coconut smoothies). This wasn' t by design. These were what I could tolerate and also high in potassium to offset the potassium that the diuretics were taking out. After four months I had a reprieve and felt amazing: clear head, fading pain and no aches. Then I immediately started a "better" multivitamin (which had 700ui of Vitamin A) and eating coloured vegetables etc. to 'nourish' my body. Good times only lasted for three weeks and old symptoms resumed.

      So I've started today. I'm tracking my Vit A intake with myFitnessPal. I'll let you know how it goes.

      Reply
      • Catherine

        February 11, 2019 at 12:00 pm

        Thank you for sharing this! And please keep us posted.

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply
      • Greg Taylor

        June 01, 2021 at 7:21 pm

        Have you looked into Serrapeptase in conjunction with vit K2 MK7?

        Reply
    15. Steven

      February 13, 2019 at 4:12 pm

      As someone who is currently trying to reduce the amount of vitamin A intake, I appreciate this article. I also appreciate Catherine's non-dogmatic approach to slowly reducing vitamin A stores rather than trying to eliminate every single iota of vitamin A. I just want to caution people that by eliminating liver and egg intake you are putting yourself at risk for NAFLD due to low choline intake. Please ensure that you're including enough animal sources of choline. Some can be found in beef, fish, and shellfish, however long-term I don't think avoiding eggs is the best strategy. Avoiding excess intake of synthetic vitamin A such as from commercial milk and avoiding excess liver consumption is probably ideal, and for good reasons. Traditional cultures did eat liver, but people have to keep in mind that this was extremely infrequent and just because some liver consumption is healthy doesn't mean we should be eating large amounts of it all the time. This wouldn't fit with any type of tradition. So certainly short term vitamin A depletion is fine (i.e. 3-6 months), however I think in the long-term having a small amount of liver once in a while and regularly eating eggs is healthy and certainly we want to be maximizing our choline status to avoid or reduce our chances of getting NAFLD, especially with the high amount of PUFA in modern diets, which put us at risk for this.

      Steven Smith, RDN LDN

      Reply
    16. Xisca

      February 17, 2019 at 5:07 am

      Grant's list of V.A. content is not complete. For example nothing is said about goat milk products! I live in a goat place, and here our cheese is called white cheese, and imported cow cheese is called yellow cheese!
      And goat butter is ...white.

      Also, sweet potatoes are not all orange. Some have white flesh. I cannot find any specific analysis according to the variety. Some can also be violet. Same as blueberries, it should mean that they are safe...

      I had instinctively been using the right colors as a gardener, what a surprise when I read Grant last year! White and violet are my best colors... As white roots, you can add after parsnip: white carrot, celeriac and even parsley root! Gobo is a white root too (bardane). Another white fruit is chirimoya. Another violet one is strawberry guava.

      Something is not clear in what Grant said, and I would appreciate some insight about palmitic acid, and not vitamine A palmitate.

      Palmitic acid should be safe with a VA depleted diet!

      Thus I am scratching my head about his mentioning of emulsions... He also mentions the recycling of VA through bile, and bile is an emulsifier, so where is the link there? If we eat emulsified fats like home made mayo, our body should need less bile... Many people tolerate mayo better than oil, even olive oil!

      I had success with the animal-based diet and I am now starting to introduce white plant food... Trials are only starting!

      Reply
      • Courtney Cooke

        July 23, 2019 at 1:03 pm

        These are very interesting questions that I also have, curious if you’ve come across anything regarding them? I do know that goat dairy is high in converted vitamin A, just not carotenes, which is why it is white, but I can’t seem to figure out whether that makes it better or worse or just as bad as cow dairy when trying to bring vitamin A levels down. We survive on raw goat dairy so I’m really trying to find this out!

        Reply
        • Xisca

          July 24, 2019 at 4:42 am

          Courtney, thanks for this new information about the difference!
          I have thought a bit more about vitamin A, and i think his job though long is not complete. I have done some muscle testing, and for me the problem is only carotene, and even lycopene was testing ok! So for this, I concluded it had to be individual.
          Then let's ask why we do not use our vitA? Some people say that we lack microbes to fight... and I think that except in our guts and a bad microbiome, this is not true. We are "ill" only when we actually fight microbes, and I think most of us have chronic invasions and microbes feeding on us.

          So we do not use our vitamin A and do not deplete it.... What blocks fighting infections? the immune system, which itself depends on the autonomic nervous system! And this ANS is overlooked. Why is it known that many people "wait for holidays" to get ill? Because they start to rest and sigh of relief, "oof I made it", and the immune system comes on board, and start to fight what was already there.

          My personal conclusion is to first stop supplemented foods and all supp with added vitamin A, and to remove PLANT provitamin A.

          Then it is up to each person to decide what to do about animal vitamin A, because of what else is contained in those foods. They are rich in nutrients. I have no eczema for example and no auto-immune as far as I know. Maybe my SIBO is enough to consume my vit A?

          Also, let's not let vitamin A hide other issues. A low vitA plant can contain other bad stuff for you. I avoid liver though I need copper, but I have too much iron in my htma, though blood levels and ferritin are ok... A mystery... And my issue with goat milk might no be vitamin A but casein or lactose, so I am trying to take some with lactase enzyme. Let's see the result and if it does not constipate me when I take the lactase...

          Reply
    17. Cherylin

      February 20, 2019 at 1:18 pm

      I am about to do a trial of a low or no Vit.-A diet to see how my body responds. When I eat a lot of greens, I notice an increase of joint pain. In my research, I came upon a good resource which seems quite comprehensive - http://dietgrail.com/no-vitamin-a-foods/

      Reply
      • Natasha

        May 06, 2019 at 6:49 am

        Are you still on the diet? Have you noticed any changes?

        Reply
      • Marcia

        April 18, 2022 at 12:01 pm

        The pain from greens may be due to high oxalate content in some of them, but curious how your trial went?

        Reply
    18. Rod

      April 24, 2019 at 12:28 pm

      Hi

      I read about a lot of people starting this diet but I never read any follow up as to their symptom reduction. I’m starting this diet now but would be nice to know if it worked for others. Could anyone share?

      Thanks

      Reply
    19. Natasha

      May 06, 2019 at 6:50 am

      Hi Katherine! Are you still on a low vitamin A Diet? What sort of Health improvements or changes have you noticed?

      Reply
    20. Jackeline

      June 01, 2019 at 10:41 am

      ezekiel 4:9 sesame bread has 0% "vitamin A" 🙂

      Reply
    21. hillcountry

      August 22, 2019 at 1:56 am

      Thanks for passing this on Catherine. I've been zero to very-low A for a year with numerous improvements. I wanted to respond to Cherylin and the link to DietGrail. Grant Genereux describes in Poisoning for Profits how the rendering of lard leaves retinoic acid in the finished product. It would be dangerous to rely on a food list that shows zero A for lard. A short story to make that point. I had a close friend who managed restaurants that served fried foods exclusively - shrimp, chicken, and fish. He ate at them for most of his meals. I was a frycook at one of them. We used pure lard in the fryers, not vegetable shortening. It made the batter-dipped foods taste better. My friend had the worst case of eczema I've ever seen. It didn't wax and wane, it was constant for years. I walked into the kitchen one morning and he was scratching his back with a coat hanger, drunk and bloody. He drank himself to sleep most nights and died of alcohol poisoning after 15 years of misery. I always wondered what the heck that was about. When I read Grant's books it was obvious that my friend had chronically poisoned himself.

      Reply
      • Xisca Nicolas

        August 23, 2019 at 2:30 am

        If retinoic acid is the culprit, it would be nice to know which forms of Vit A are tolerable or not… As I said I did some muscle tests and both egg yolk and red tomato passed the test! Orange carrot and leaves and chlorella did not….
        Lard has been heated, so does it change the form of vitamine A it has? Is pork fat ok or at least better when it comes from ham or prosciutto, as they are raw and fermented?

        Reply
        • hillcountry

          August 26, 2019 at 3:50 am

          Hi Xisca Nicolas - only thing I can think of that should help answer those questions is to go zero-a for as long as it takes to improve symptoms, then add things one at a time. In chapter 11 of Grant's second book (free online) he describes being in recovery and adding a lutein + zeaxanthin supplement, which set him way back, contrary to medical science saying they had no vit a activity.

          Reply
    22. Lucie Robazza

      August 22, 2019 at 4:35 pm

      Hi Catherine,

      Thank you so much for this article. Do you think that someone could suffer Vitamin A toxicity at 40 from taking Accutane when they were teenagers?
      Could Vitamin A cause liver enzyme levels to go up?

      Thank yo so much!

      Reply
    23. Mark

      October 29, 2019 at 5:54 pm

      I followed a “Ray Peat inspired” diet for the last 8 years. I was brainwashed by Peat for some reason. My health got progressively worse and worse over those years. Peat is such a huge dairy fan, and it always causes symptoms in me. Even with my infamous daily carrot salad and bamboo shoots.

      I started listening to my body more then following his advice blindly. Ditched dairy. And then naturally, I just stopped wanting food without any Vitamin A whatsoever. I didn’t really notice it, until I came across some research on Vitamin A toxicity. Then started reading a lot of testimonies and stories similar to mine.

      I can say with assurity that human beings do not need any food whatever that has Vitamin A in it. Most plant foods are toxic, and I believe we don’t need plant food in our diets whatsoever. Some plants do taste wonderful so I still have a few here and there. But I naturally crave plants without much or any Vitamin A. My body just seems to know better.

      Reply
      • Stanley

        October 30, 2019 at 11:21 am

        Mark,

        Thanks, but your N=1 experiment doesn't prove anything. It doesn't prove vitamin A to be toxic and doesn't prove Dr. Peat's views to be wrong at all. Testimonials of people who went on an elimination diet doesn't prove anything either. The "research" you speak of about vitamin A toxicity is non-existent. The theory is laughed at in acedemia and the scientific community. And if you were truly confident in the research, you would have shared it here with the rest of us.

        Reply
        • Mark

          October 30, 2019 at 3:34 pm

          Honestly, replies like this one, “Stanley”, is why I don’t participate in online discussion forums. You are 100% a snowflake. Guaranteed. And a weirdo, at that. Not even worthy of a second of my time. I don’t need to “prove” shit to you, moron. Just telling my own personal story, you snowflake fuck.

          Reply
          • Stanley

            October 31, 2019 at 5:48 am

            Notice how I didn't resort to ad-hominem attacks like you did to get my point across. I'm just calling a spade a spade. My points stand on their own without making it personal. You on the other hand know that you can't back up what your saying, so you insult me. Which just goes to show how truly stupid you really are. I agree with you- you shouldn't participate on online discussions, especially if you're commenting on a topic you know absolutely nothing about.

            Reply
          • Marcia

            April 18, 2022 at 12:07 pm

            Sounds like that 'zero' vitamin A diet has done wonders for your mental health Mark.

            Reply
        • Marcia

          April 18, 2022 at 12:12 pm

          I agree with your comment in general Stanley, but to say that research about vitamin A toxicity is 'non-existent' is absurd. There are many studies and reports...

          Here's just one link:

          https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/hypervitaminosis-a

          Reply
    24. Janice A Beels

      November 05, 2020 at 12:15 pm

      I am thinking about giving this detox diet a try due to some leaky gut issues, how long is it recommended to stay on it?

      Reply
      • Catherine

        November 05, 2020 at 5:39 pm

        Hi Janice,

        This is only meant for people who have a documented overdose of vitamin A (Rx drugs, supplements, etc). I'm more of a fan of GI Map testing for gut issues instead of eliminating a wide variety of foods from the diet when it may not be needed.

        You can find out more about the GI Map here: butternutrition.com/services

        Testing is better than guessing in my opinion.

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply
        • Joseph

          August 26, 2022 at 7:31 pm

          My serum Vit A is in the low normal range but I have chronic eczema on my scalp and thinning hair. Doesn't it seem likely that I should give the Low Vit A diet a trial run? I'm encouraged to find this info. Nothing else has changed my eczema. Thank you.

          Reply
    25. Tracy

      September 02, 2022 at 2:32 pm

      I was just diagnosed with IIH (internal cranial hypertension) and I too read to stay away from evertthing Vitamin A related,(which is a lot) and anything with tyramine in it.
      I will try this new life style change to feel better,

      Reply
    26. Christine

      November 13, 2022 at 11:55 am

      I’ve been battling a severe vitamin A toxicity for about two years now. This helped tremendously! Having terrible muscle and bone pain, anxiety, depression, leaky guy, tremors, etc., none of the doctors I visited were able to figure this out. I realized I felt worse after eating every time. I essentially stopped eating much. After trial and error and some research I realized it was Hypervitaminosis A. I felt symptoms 24/7 for months upon months. I’m now adding foods back in. Thank you so much for this article and guidance!

      Reply
      • Catherine

        November 13, 2022 at 5:08 pm

        So happy to hear that Christine!

        Abundantly,
        Catherine

        Reply

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