Retinol is the fat-soluble vitamin A; Retinol Palmitate is the esther form of it.
PROTEIN & VITAMIN A
We need look no further than Chris Masterjohn’s article, “Vitamin
A, The Forgotten Bodybuilding Nutrient” (Wise Traditions,
Fall 2004). As Masterjohn explains, “The utilization of protein requires
vitamin A. Several animal studies have shown that liver reserves of vitamin A
are depleted by a high dietary intake of protein, while vitamin A increases in
non-liver tissues. One explanation for this is that adequate protein is
necessary for vitamin A transport. In one study, researchers fed
radioactively-labeled vitamin A to rats on low-protein and high-protein diets,
using the amount of radioactivity present in exhaled gases, urine and feces as
a measure of the metabolism of vitamin A, and found that vitamin A is indeed
used at a higher rate on a high-protein diet.”
Masterjohn continues,
“Vitamin A is not only depleted by a high intake of protein, but it is also
necessary for the synthesis of new protein, which is the goal of the
bodybuilder. Rats fed diets deficient in vitamin A synthesize protein at a
lower rate than rats fed adequate vitamin A. Cultured skeletal muscle cells
increase the amount of protein per cell when exposed to vitamin A and D, but
not when exposed to vitamin D alone.”
In other words, eating
lean meat or taking a protein powder sends a signal to the liver: “Send me
vitamin A!” Protein consumed in the absence of fat, with its precious cargo of
fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin A, is an effective way of rapidly
depleting your liver of vitamin A stores.
What happens when the
liver becomes depleted of vitamin A, so that none can be made available to the
body when needed?
Vitamin A is key to
almost every process in the body—the concert master, so to speak—not only for
protein synthesis, but also for hormone production (including sex hormones like
testosterone, and thyroid hormone); vitamin A is also key to immune system
function, critical for healthy vision and hearing, plays a role in bone health,
and works in tandem with vitamins D and K2 for everything from the
prevention of heart disease to the production of feel-good chemicals. A diet of
lean meat, or one that incorporates protein powders, is a recipe for hormone
disruption, fatigue, depression, bone problems, auto-immune disease, vision and
hearing problems, heart disease and even cancer.
