Low Toxin Diet Beef Tallow retinol content

[mosaic01]

Does anyone have more information on the retinol content of beef tallow?

Cronometer says it's zero.

This german source is pretty credible and it gives a value of 220 mcg per 100g:

Rindertalg Nährwerte

www.naehrwertrechner.de

So using, for example, 25g for a meal will result in a retinol intake of 55mcg.

The retinol content will vary with the diet of the animal, so a higher or lower content is possible. Grass-fed organic will probably have more.

 

[charlie]

This is a really great question as I love using beef tallow but have been limiting it because word is that its high in "vitamin A".

 

[mosaic01]

Yeah, it's is a great fat overall for frying.

The german source gives "Federal Food Code and manufacturer information." as their source, and the data does not seem to be arbitrary, but someone measured the actual nutrient content and chemical composition of beef tallow.

So 220mcg per 100g make sense as a rough estimate. Probably +-100mcg.

But I would like to see other data to verify and get a bigger picture.

 

[Nick]

I bought some organic grass fed tallow and it is much yellower than the fat that gets rendered from cooking the grass fed beef I usually eat, I'm not sure what to think about this so I haven't been using it very much.

 

[mosaic01]

Found something.

Contrary to expectations, our sample did not exhibit significant beta-carotene levels but revealed the presence of retinol. Retinol is the most bioavailable form of Vitamin A and in its natural, safest form, a very sought after vitamin for skincare. Beta carotene, present in fresh, green forages, is what gives beef tallow its characteristic yellow hue and should show up more readily in summer months.

The USDA recorded all forms of Vitamin A at 0. Our sample registered retinol at 159 IU per 100 g. WAPF's 2023 test resulted in 328 IU per 100g for white tallow and 308 IU for yellow tallow. WAPF states, "Lard, tallow, lamb fat, and poultry fats are not good sources of Vitamin A."

For perspective, the RDA for Vitamin A for an adult is approximately 3000 IU. A topical application from a retinoid-based cream might be in the range of 800 to 1000 IU.

Our Blog

buffalogalgrassfed.com

So we have three data points now:

- German source: 220 mcg (unclear whether actually tested, but likely)
- WAPF 2023: 98 mcg for white, 92 mcg for yellow tallow (actual lab test, grass-fed beef)
- Buffalo Gal Grassfed 2023: 48 mcg (actual lab test, grass-fed beef, no beta-carotene)

Given that the two latter sources analyzed grass-fed tallow, this shows a pretty low amount of retinol.

If tallow has 50-100 mcg per 100 g, then using the fat regularly would not be an issue. When using tallow for frying, a lot of the oil will be discarded anyway.

The range of 50-220 mcg shows that the values given don't diverge from each other too much, and even in the worst case scenario tallow is not a large source of retinol.

The german source is a bit contradictory, because it lists the beta-carotene content as 220mcg as well. I have seen it several times in the literature that IU and mcg got confused. 220 IU make more sense to me here, or what got measured is actually the beta-carotene content.

An average retinol content of 50-100mcg per 100g seems to be a good assumption, based on two different lab tests. Given that someone is unlikely to consume more than 50g of beef tallow on a given day, the retinol content of tallow should be negligible on the background of a low A diet.

Interestingly, there is a process used for cosmetics where tallow is purifed with salt water and the result is zero fat-soluble "vitamins":

In our pursuit of understanding the impact of purification on tallow, we previously submitted for testing a sample of cosmetic-grade tallow (refined with saltwater until it became odorless and pure white). For detailed information on the fatty acid test results, please refer to our blog post titled Delving Deeper Into the Impact of Tallow Purification.

Notably, this refined sample did not register for fat-soluble vitamins. We requested the lab to conduct the test again at their very lowest detection levels, and once more, no vitamins were detected. This leads us to strongly consider the possibility that the process of saltwater refining may remove vitamins from the tallow. Our assumption is supported by the fact that when tallow is refined to a white hue, the removal of beta-carotenes, responsible for the characteristic yellow color, is necessary. Therefore, it appears that the elimination of these color-contributing elements may also strip away essential vitamins from the tallow.

 

[pepsi]

I use vintage traditions beef tallow found on amazon for a moisturizer.

Olive Oil + Tallow from Grass-Fed Cows – Beef Tallow for Skin​

I wonder if this is ok?

 

[Peater]

Goose and duck fat might be OK for cooking with. I have jars of coconut oil too but they are on hiatus so I can give the low VA thing a fair crack.

 

[3apples555]

Goose and duck fat might be OK for cooking with. I have jars of coconut oil too but they are on hiatus so I can give the low VA thing a fair crack.

Why? I was thinking coconut oil was low Vit A ... maybe I missed it.

 

[Peater]

Why? I was thinking coconut oil was low Vit A ... maybe I missed it.

It is but apparently there is some concern it can help transport vit A internally/emulsify it somehow. I was disappointed!

 

[taralynne]

I use vintage traditions beef tallow found on amazon for a moisturizer.

Olive Oil + Tallow from Grass-Fed Cows – Beef Tallow for Skin​

I wonder if this is ok?

I hope so.. I have been using Van Man's tallow for a moisturizer. I read somewhere that tallow is high in A &, I think Van Man may even advertise that as being one of the benefits of his product but I'm not really sure what else to use that doesn't contain a bunch of other toxic ingredients.

 

[Dutchie]

It's interesting, when I ate Ground beef or Ground bison without draining some of the fat. I immediately started to experience acute symptoms : my leg weakening/walking worsening even more/staggering around like I'm drunk,cracked lips and being very unbalanced.

Today I ate Ground undrained lamb and I had none of those issues.
Does lamb fat contain no vitamin A or maybe just no beta carotene? (The sources seem to differ,some praise it for it's fatsoluble vitamins including A, while some trackingsites say it has 0% vit A)

 

[Dutchie]

It's interesting, when I ate Ground beef or Ground bison without draining some of the fat. I immediately started to experience acute symptoms : my leg weakening/walking worsening even more/staggering around like I'm drunk and being very unbalanced.

Today I ate Ground undrained lamb and I had none of those issues.
Does lamb fat contain no vitamin A or maybe just no beta carotene? (The sources seem to differ,some praise it for it's fatsoluble vitamins including A, while some trackingsites say it has 0% vit A)

" The aim of this study was to estimate total carotenoids, β-carotene and retinol concentrations in the livers and muscles of some ungulates (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and horses) in comparison with the Wistar rats as a control. Cattle and horses had the highest contents of total carotenoids and β-carotene. Unexpectedly, sheep was the highest accumulator of retinol with a mean concentration of 203 ± 23.34 µg/g, while the least accumulator was buffalo, having a mean value of 58.28 ± 13.77 µg/g. Livers had higher contents of the examined phytochemicals than muscles"

β-carotene and retinol contents in the meat of herbivorous ungulates with a special reference to their public health importance

So, it looks like sheep/lamb has mostly retinol.
I wonder if beta carotene has been my main problem,instead of vit.A all together, all these years. Looking back on it, I always had some type of beta carotene staple in my diet despite being low carb and eventually plantfree. (Cabbage, beef tallow, Ground beef and other fatty beef cuts, liquid supplements with (high A) plant extracts, beef liver in my thyroid glandular, nettle and tulsi tea).
Could that even be possible that beta carotene has been causing all my cascading issues over the years and not so much pure retinol?

 

[mosaic01]

Beef tallow is neither a relevant source of beta-carotene nor of retinol, according to the mentioned lab tests.

β-carotene and retinol contents in the meat of herbivorous ungulates with a special reference to their public health importance

That study is faulty, as mentioned here: Low Toxin Lifestyle - Does Dr. Garrett Smith Have it Wrong, Is Anhydroretinol the Real Problem with vitamin A?

The beta-carotene content of meat is negligible, with 0.2 mcg/g, i.e. 300g of meat has a mere 60mcg of beta-carotene.

 

[Dutchie]

Beef tallow is neither a relevant source of beta-carotene nor of retinol, according to the mentioned lab tests.



That study is faulty, as mentioned here: Low Toxin Lifestyle - Does Dr. Garrett Smith Have it Wrong, Is Anhydroretinol the Real Problem with vitamin A?

The beta-carotene content of meat is negligible, with 0.2 mcg/g, i.e. 300g of meat has a mere 60mcg of beta-carotene.

I'm not talking about the meat, but the beef and bison fat give me the same acute symptoms of vit.A toxicity.
It's a mystery to me why this happens and the destruction it caused, despite the fact that I never had a ridiculous high vit.A diet,used it in supplements/beauty products, had fortified foods, Accutane etc.

 

[Fenrir67]

I'm not talking about the meat, but the beef and bison fat give me the same acute symptoms of vit.A toxicity.
It's a mystery to me why this happens and the destruction it caused, despite the fact that I never had a ridiculous high vit.A diet,used it in supplements/beauty products, had fortified foods, Accutane etc.

Unlike lamb fat beef fat contain lutein.

 

[Dutchie]

Unlike lamb fat beef fat contain lutein.

Luteijn is a carotenoid as well.
My mistake, I typed beta-carotene but I actually mean carotenoids in general (vs retinol).
Today I ate the last package of Ground beef (bc I'm not about throwing food out), the immediate onset of worse walking, unsteadiness,weakness, mild nausea is alarming.
(This doesn't happen with lean beef and/or other fats. Only beef and bison fat.)

 

[Richiebogie]

Today I ate the last package of Ground beef (bc I'm not about throwing food out), the immediate onset of worse walking, unsteadiness,weakness, mild nausea is alarming.
(This doesn't happen with lean beef and/or other fats. Only beef and bison fat.)

Maybe there is glyphosate in the beef fat or some detergent the butcher uses to clean his meat mincer!

It is not necessarily carotenoids causing your unsteadiness.

 

[Dutchie]

Maybe there is glyphosate in the beef fat or some detergent the butcher uses to clean his meat mincer!

It is not necessarily carotenoids causing your unsteadiness.

I know, the reason I suspect it is bc I experience the exact same worsening symptoms as I do when having foods with caretenoids in them.
That's why it's such a mystery to me that even this small amount triggers such a severe reaction.
(When I have my glandular supplement with a tiny amount of retinol in it, I don't get such a reaction).