3 ms·
Vegetables don't contain retinol (e.g. real vitamin A) but beta-carotine, which isn't very efficiently converted to vitamin A by the body, and the ability to co
by _yb2s 5y ago
Vegetables don't contain retinol (e.g. real vitamin A) but beta-carotine, which isn't very efficiently converted to vitamin A by the body, and the ability to convert it varies as much as tenfold [0] from person to person. It's very likely that people that get an energy boost from retinol (e.g. a vitamin A supplement, or eating animal liver) wouldn't get the same boost from eating vegetables high in beta-carotene.
I would recommend eating liver, or getting a vitamin A supplement in addition to/instead of eating the vegetables mentioned above. Anecdotally, I notice a big improvement in my mood and energy levels when I consistently eat beef liver, despite the fact that I have a lot of high beta-carotine vegetables in my diet.
[0]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854912/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854912/
- srcreigh 5y agoOut of interest's sake, are there other vitamins missing from your diet which beef liver would provide? maybe B12? Very interesting info though, worth trying out. Anecdotally, I can share that I got a nice sleepy/focused/calm/euphoric boost a couple hours after eating some carrots today.
- _yb2s 4y agoYeah, liver is really high in a lot of nutrients hard to get elsewhere... it's hard to say what is causing the effect I notice.
- giantg2 5y agoButter, eggs, cheese, and fish have it too. Personally I like to stick with those. Liver and kidneys have higher values, but I don't trust "filter" organs these days. Too many potential contaminates unless you're very picky about where you get them.
- _yb2s 4y agoKidneys are a "filter" organ, liver really isn't. The liver contains p450 enzymes which chemically modify toxins from the blood as they flow through so that they can easily be filtered by the kidneys... I don't see any reason to expect toxins to be concentrated in the liver.