Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Hello - I've been Paleo 2 months now. Everything is great but I had a bout of itchy skin, which I think was due to too many probiotics. I cut back on them and now I can't seem to get rid of my chapped lips. I'm beginning to think this is from my increase of vitamin A. For two months, salads (including kale and dark leafy greens) have been my mainstain. So, my question is this.

What do I eat to be Low Carb, fill me up yet lower in vitamin A?

flag	asked Mar 2 2012 at 19:59 ruby_goes_paleo 161●1●7

Travis Culp · Answer 1 · 2012-03-02 20:24:46Z UTC

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Nah, no way would salad do that. You'd have to be eating piles of liver or taking a supplement with retinol.

answered Mar 2 2012 at 20:24

Travis Culp♦
39.8k●1●32●134

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yes, with increased consumption of beta-carotene, which is the major form of plant Vitamin A, the body automatically downregulates conversion to retinol, the usable/animal form of Vitamin A. There is no way to overdose on A from plant sources that I know of. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Mar 2 2012 at 22:08

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Yeah I agree with Travis since I eat raw grass fed liver twice a week so I guarantee Im getting 2-3 time the amount of vitamin A your getting with no symptoms. Whats your 25 hydroxy levels at? They are related to keeping each other out of toxic range. Your recent fat detox is probably the reason for the skin issues as i got boils on my legs the first 3 weeks. Im fine now. – Cory151 Mar 2 2012 at 22:58

eimearreclaimedhealth · Answer 2 · 2012-03-02 20:37:03Z UTC

Your skin is probably dry from all the salad eating. Not enough fat soluble vitamins for good skin. Lots of dark greens can be thyroid suppressing, which can cause dry skin. Sounds liek if anything you could be low on vitamin A (in the retinol form). Women are often poor converters of beta carotene to retinol, so you maybe aren't turning much of the stuff in the greens into vitamin A in your body. Try eating some fat and liver.

Tyler · Answer 3 · 2012-03-02 22:05:28Z UTC

What's your vit d levels look like? Vitamin D increases the amount of Vitamin A we can work with, so I'd consider supplementing if you aren't already.

...Studies show that supplementing with vitamin D radically increases the toxicity threshold of vitamin A. In a hypothetical 160 lb. person, vitamin D supplementation increases the toxicity threshold of vitamin A to more than 200,000 IU/d. You’d have to eat 22 ounces of beef liver or take 5 TBS of high vitamin CLO each day to get this amount. Not likely!

To meet vitamin A needs (assuming you’re not up for eating organ meats), I recommend taking high vitamin cod liver oil (CLO) to provide a dose of 10-15,000 IU per day. Cod liver oil is really more of a food than a supplement, but since it’s not a normal part of people’s diet we’ll consider it as a supplement. CLO is an ideal vitamin A source because it also contains vitamin D, which as we just learned, protects against the toxicity of A.

http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-4-supplement-wisely

VB · Answer 4 · 2012-03-03 15:57:31Z UTC

I cannot offer any solutions but I have a temporary solution that will mask the symptoms.

I use 100% pure shea butter on my lips (and any other dry parts).

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Make sure it is 100% pure, though. Once I bought some stuff, it had some additives and I got allergic reaction (I am allergic to almost everything).

I have tried five oils on my lips (including coconut, EVOO, pumpkin, etc). Shea butter was the only stuff that made my skin/lips/heals soft.

Good luck!

Too much vitamin A - dry skin/chapped lips

4 Answers