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Few ingredients are considered as unquestionably beneficial as vitamin A. It’s routinely added to infant formula, given to children through international supplementation programs and promoted as essential for healthy growth (and to avoid sickness). In The Hidden Toxicity of Vitamin A in Infant Formula, we look at the scientific research, our family’s personal experience and the growing body of evidence suggesting that one of the most trusted ingredients in infant formula may actually be contributing to chronic disease.
After years of researching the scientific literature, studying the history behind vitamin A recommendations and seeing the effects firsthand in my own family, I’ve come to a very different conclusion than most people. I believe we’ve misunderstood vitamin A for over a century and that chronic vitamin A toxicity may be contributing to many of today’s most common chronic diseases.
Our family’s experience is only one story, but it’s part of the reason I began digging deeply into the research. Here’s what happened.
Our family’s experience
When we brought our adopted daughter home from Africa, we had her blood work tested and a hair analysis. One of the results indicated vitamin A toxicity. At the children’s shelter, she had been eating sweet potatoes, leafy greens and infant formula — all foods high in vitamin A.
Whether vitamin A is synthetic and added to fortified foods or naturally present as carotenoids in vegetables or preformed vitamin A (retinol) from animal foods, excessive amounts become toxic to the body.
Historically, acute vitamin A toxicity received most of the attention, but chronic toxicity has been largely overlooked — until recently.
Today, thousands of people report improving their health while intentionally lowering their vitamin A intake — whether from detoxing vitamin A as the main goal or from choosing a Carnivore diet (note: suggested only with low-toxin fiber added, such as apples).
There are also many published studies associating excessive vitamin A intake various conditions: liver damage, kidney dysfunction, osteoporosis, bone pain, fractures, dental deterioration, birth defects, miscarriage, fetal toxicity, hypercalcemia, hair loss, dry skin, cracked lips, dry eyes, headaches, intracranial hypertension, vision changes, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, elevated triglycerides, connective tissue degeneration, periodontal disease, arthritis, gout, chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders and mental health issues, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, increased susceptibility to infections, altered cancer risk, scurvy, eczema, psoriasis, digestive disorders, bile dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, infertility, chronic fatigue, fibrosis, food intolerances, impaired mineral balance, reduced detoxification and reduced resilience to environmental toxins.
In my daughter’s case, I believe her elevated vitamin A levels were due, at least in part, to the infant formula she consumed.
The infant formula conundrum
Think about the millions of babies around the world who rely on formula fortified with vitamin A. Formula can unquestionably save lives by providing calories, protein and nourishment when breastfeeding isn’t possible.
But I also believe many infants are routinely exposed to more vitamin A than their bodies can safely handle, setting the stage for minor health problems in the beginning and more serious issues later in life.
My daughter has now followed a low-vitamin A diet for almost four years, and she’s healthy and thriving. She’s smart, strong, fast, coordinated, thoughtful and beautiful. Watching her flourish has only strengthened my conviction that lowering vitamin A was an important part of her recovery. I’ve seen toxicity and symptoms disappear that are directly related to vitamin A overload.
What about the children who continue consuming high amounts of vitamin A throughout infancy and childhood, and then into adulthood? Certainly I see issues like eczema, asthma, dairy intolerance and behavioral issues as common among children who were given formula (like myself).
As more research is published, over time, people may understand more broadly the long-term effects of excess vitamin A on the skin, kidneys, liver, lungs, bones, eyes and other organs — not to mention neurological and mental health conditions.
Get the word out
What can we do? First, we need to keep asking questions and sharing the evidence. If current recommendations are based on flawed assumptions, they should be reexamined.
Vitamin A supplementation programs now reach children in well over 100 countries, and health organizations continue to promote vitamin A throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa as an essential nutrient. Yet despite decades of effort, billions of doses and billions of dollars spent, these programs have not improved overall health, while higher doses are associated with increased mortality, especially in younger children and babies.
One question that deserves consideration is this: If humans truly require significant dietary vitamin A throughout life, why do so many people report thriving on diets composed almost entirely of muscle meat, which contains very little (almost zero) vitamin A?
People everywhere need adequate protein and zinc, sufficient calories and appropriate sources of fiber — but no one needs more vitamin A. Malnutrition stems from inadequate protein, not lack of vitamin A.
You can read more here about the early rodent studies that shaped today’s vitamin A recommendations and why those experiments led researchers to incorrect conclusions.
Dr. Garrett Smith‘s (the foremost authority on vitamin A toxicity) theory on why breast milk contains vitamin A (1:15): Just because vitamin A is found in breast milk doesn’t necessarily mean it belongs there. Breast milk also contains many substances the mother’s body eliminates through lactation, allowing the baby’s newly developing liver to help process some of that burden while the mother’s body remains healthy enough to continue caring for and nursing her infant.
Vitamin A should not be added to infant formula. It is a toxin, not a nutrient. The next step is to conduct animal experiments in which mammals receive infant formula containing no vitamin A to test this hypothesis directly.
We Can Build a Better Infant Formula
Vitamin A isn’t the only ingredient that deserves another look.
Human breast milk is one of nature’s most remarkable foods. Yet many modern infant formulas depend heavily on refined vegetable oils, processed sugars such as corn syrup solids or maltodextrin, and a long list of synthetic vitamin and mineral additives. Various medical studies voice these concerns — including the changes formula causes to infant microbiome.
While these formulas have undoubtedly saved countless lives when breastfeeding wasn’t possible, I believe we can do much better.
The goal shouldn’t simply be to keep babies alive. It should be to avoid adding toxic ingredients into their food and to nourish them in the closest possible way to healthy mammalian milk. That means designing formulas with highly bioavailable proteins, appropriate milk-based fats, balanced minerals and carefully selected carbohydrates that more closely resemble those found in breast milk.
It also means continually evaluating whether routinely added ingredients — including certain vegetable oils, refined sugars and synthetic fortificants — are truly beneficial over the long term or whether some may unintentionally contribute to inflammation, oxidative stress or other health problems.
In my view, the ideal infant formula would provide every essential macro- and micronutrient needed for normal growth while minimizing unnecessary ingredients that may increase the body’s toxic burden. We should strive to give babies nourishment that supports lifelong health — not simply adequate growth during infancy (that leaves many children with unexplained symptoms).
As science advances, I hope researchers will question long-held assumptions about infant nutrition. Our youngest and most vulnerable children deserve formulas that are as safe, nourishing and biologically appropriate as modern science can make them.
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- Pregnant? What to Take Instead of Prenatals
- The Dangers of Vitamin A Palmitate (including jaundice in newborns)
- Why I’m Raising Gerbils: A Scientific Experiment on Vitamin A Deficiency
References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
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