InChristAlone
Member
Thanks for your reply, this has been on my mind a lot so it's good to discuss. What comes to mind after reading the studies is that RA is the active metabolite meaning it is being converted instead of being stored, so it would make sense that those who are able to convert instead of store it would be healthier. Storing it because you don't have enough retinaldehyde dehydrogenase to deal with it isn't good! It would reveal worse health outcomes with possible liver disease and then subsequent metabolic syndrome. It doesn't mean those that had lower RA were consuming a Vit A deficient diet. And please know that it takes a long long time for the liver to be depleted of it so getting fat in a few short months isn't due to vitamin A deficiency, sounds more like a retinaldehyde dehydrogenase issue possible fatty liver.Meh, I don't believe that. Got any proof?
This study suggests that tissue levels of Vitamin A are LOWER in obesity, even though serum levels are "normal." If that were true, there would be little to no retinol to "come out" in the first place-
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Obesity Leads to Tissue, but not Serum Vitamin A Deficiency - Scientific Reports
Obesity negatively affects multiple metabolic pathways, but little is known about the impact of obesity on vitamin A (VA)[retinol (ROL)], a nutrient that regulates expression of genes in numerous pathways essential for human development and health. We demonstrate that obese mice, generated from...www.nature.com
I will also point out that a few of the studies that Grant Generaux cited on his "Obesity" blog post actually showed that Vitamin A DEFIECINCY caused obesity and fat gain.
It makes a lot more sense that Vitamin A itself is an anti-cortisol and anti-obesity agent-
Vitamin A Lowers High Cortisol Levels (Cushing Disease)
Several studies, starting with the human one. The scientists used retinoic acid, which is the active form of retinol. Usually, people take vitamin A in the form of retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate, and then these pro-drugs convert into retinoic acid with an efficiency of about 10%. The...raypeatforum.com
Vitamin A Is A Powerful Anti-obesity Agent By Lowering Cortisol
I know some people on the forum struggle with high cortisol, as well as its accompanying side effects such as weight gain, muscle loss, etc. It looks like vitamin A may be able to help, and it can do so even in people with Cushing disease whose cortisol levels are VERY high. Here is some info on...raypeatforum.com
Generaux cited the following study-
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Circulating Retinoic Acid Levels and the Development of Metabolic Syndrome
AbstractContext and Objective:. In this prospective study, we evaluated the association of retinoic acid (RA) with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the Chiacademic.oup.com
And here are some quotes from that study-
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Vitamin A Metabolism and Adipose Tissue Biology
In recent years, the importance of vitamin A in adipose tissue biology, obesity and type II diabetes has become apparent. This review focuses on recent developments within the area of vitamin A and adipose tissue biology. Adipose tissue has an active ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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