Why you can’t get vitamin A from eating vegetables

There’s a common misconception that beta-carotene found in fruits and vegetables is the same thing as vitamin A. It’s not.

Beta-carotene is the precursor (inactive form) of retinol, the active form of vitamin A. While beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in humans, only 3% gets converted in a healthy adult. And that’s assuming you’re not one of the 45% of adults that don’t convert any beta-carotene into vitamin A at all.

This means that – contrary to popular wisdom – vegetables like carrots and red peppers are not adequate food sources of vitamin A.

Vitamin A is found in significant amounts only in animal products like liver and grass-fed dairy. You’d have to eat a huge amount of beta-carotene from plants to meet vitamin A requirements during pregnancy. For example, 3 ounces of beef liver contains 27,000 IU of vitamin A. As the chart below illustrates, to get the same amount of vitamin A from plants (assuming a 3% conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A), you’d have to eat 4.4 pounds of cooked carrots, 40 pounds of raw carrots, and 50 cups of cooked kale!

Why eating only lean protein is a bad idea

Remember back in the early 90s when lean proteins like boneless, skinless chicken breast, nonfat milk and whey protein powder became all the rage?

This was based on the idea that fat is bad for us (which we now know is wrong) and we should avoid it as much as possible.

But it turns out that not only is eating lean protein unnecessary, it’s potentially harmful.

What most people don’t know is that we need fat soluble vitamins (especially vitamin A) to absorb the protein we eat. And guess what? Fat-soluble vitamins are found almost exclusively in animal fats. Lean protein has very little fat, and thus, no fat soluble vitamins.

So what happens when you eat exclusively lean protein? Your body will “withdraw” fat soluble vitamins stored in your liver in order to absorb the proteins. Over time, this will lead to a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins, and all of the significant health problems that go along with such a deficiency.

It’s analogous to charging up a huge credit card bill when you don’t have a job. Eventually the creditors come calling and you go bankrupt.

Babies should be breastfed exclusively for 6 months

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for babies.

Think about it: mother nature has had more than 2.5 million years to figure this one out.  Breast milk contains the perfect mix of fat, protein and carbohydrate for the babies developing physiology.  It contains protective substances that give her immunity to diseases.

In the early stages of a baby’s life, breast milk meets all of her nutrient needs.  No other foods or fluids – including water – are necessary.  (Breast milk itself is 88% water, which more than satisfies an infant’s thirst).

A report called Infant and Young Child Feeding issues by the World Health Organization summarized research indicating that infants should be breasted exclusively for the first 6 months of their lives.  Babies exclusively breastfed for 6 months have 8.6 times lower risk of diarrheal illness.  A study from India found that deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia could be decreased by one-third if infants were exclusively (rather than partially) breastfed for the first 4 months.  Sadly, only 35% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.