Vitamin A and Thyroid

     Thyroid problems are epidemic today contributing to weight gain and blood sugar problems. One of the culprits may be low fat diets deficient in fat soluble nutrients including vitamin A. Low levels of vitamin A can suppress thyroid function, lead to increase in the size of the thyroid, and reduce uptake of iodine. The vitamin can also reduce the risk of goiter if iodine intake is low. While low vitamin A can reduce thyroid functioning so can excessive levels of the vitamin. The fat soluble vitamins all work well together and reduce risk of toxicity from any one of them. Balanced intake of nutrients is important. Low fat diets can easily lead to deficiencies of fat soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids not to mention the essential fatty acids. These deficiencies can lead to a wide variety of serious health problems. Removal of the gallbladder is one factor that can contribute to deficiencies of fat soluble nutrients.

Reference: 

Farhangi, M.A., et al., The effect of vitamin A supplementation on thyroid function in premenopausal women, J Am Coll Nutr, Aug. 2012; 31(4):268-274.

Vitamin A Deficiency

Mainstream medicine believes that vitamin A deficiency is rare. It is probably much more common than we think. Those with low thyroid function can not convert carotenoids to vitamin A efficiently. The same is true of diabetics. Low fat diets and cholesterol lowering medications can also make it more difficult to obtain optimal levels of vitamin A which is found preformed in only a few foods like liver, butter and eggs.

Vitamin A performs many functions in the human body including night vision, immune enhancement, skin health, regulation of cell growth, and synthesis of some of the most important hormones in the body including male and female sex hormones.

Signs of Vitamin A deficiency include calluses on the bottom of the foot, hardening of the skin around the pores, poor night vision, frequent infections, skin problems and hormonal problems.

GNLD Vitamin A is derived from the highest quality pollack liver oil. It is broken into tiny droplets (water miscibility) to improve absorption.