Vitamin A and testosterone

[nickortego]

I found this article about the link between Vitamin A, testosterone, and high protein diets.
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/vita...ybuilding.html
Very interesting. I already take cod liver oil and dessicated beef liver, so I think my Vitamin A intake is adequate, but it may be something for some guys to think about, if you're on a high protein diet and also keep your fat intake low. Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, usually found in higher fat foods.

[DRP7]

Originally Posted by nickortego

I found this article about the link between Vitamin A, testosterone, and high protein diets.
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/vita...ybuilding.html
Very interesting. I already take cod liver oil and dessicated beef liver, so I think my Vitamin A intake is adequate, but it may be something for some guys to think about, if you're on a high protein diet and also keep your fat intake low. Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, usually found in higher fat foods.

this is very interesting and something that I absolutely was not aware of. I do however ask myself, whether protein- and testosterone synthesis are decreased only when there is a Vit. A deficiency and return to normal when Vit A is being normalized OR if the addition of Vit.A on top of already normal Vit.A-levels would increase protein-synthesis and testosterone ABOVE normal levels. ´Without having read all the cited references, I guess that the first assumption is more likely to be true than the latter.

[nickortego]

Yes, I doubt if taking extra Vitamin A will increase testosteron that much. But it's worth looking at your current intake and trying to ensure that it is adequate to support normal test production. However, defining what that amount may be would be another whole issue. Is the RDA enough? Especially for someone on a high protein diet. Who knows? A little supplementation with cod liver oil probably would not hurt anyone. And care should be taken not to go overboard with Vitamin A, as it is fat soluble and levels of it in the body can build up to toxic levels if megadoses are taken for a long time.

My high school football coaches used to give us a horse nutritional supplement called 747. It was really just a good dose of vitamin A with some minerals and amino acids. However a lot of people in my small town swore it would help you gain weight when your were working out. They also warned about only taking 1 or 2 tablespoons a day. I gained a lot of strength and mass on it, but who knows what this supplement contributed to it. My body was in puberty and testosterone and GH were probably very high already.