I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. I am not a doctor; please consult your practitioner before changing your supplement or healthcare regimen. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Why I’m Raising Gerbils: A Scientific Experiment on Vitamin A Deficiency explains a new scientific experiment I’m (excited to be) doing! that’s quite simple — but also one tiny important step in history.
Gerbil Study: Testing a Zero Vitamin A Diet
In May 2025, I first shared my plan to raise gerbils on a zero vitamin A diet. (See that original post below. What now precedes it is my September 2025 update.)
The goal is to challenge the flawed 1925 study by Wolbach and Howe. Those scientists believed rodents required vitamin A to survive. In reality, their animals likely died from vitamin A toxicity. At the time, researchers did not understand carotenoids and precursors, which created more vitamin A in the diet than they realized.
By redoing this study, I hope to show that rodents — and even humans — can thrive without vitamin A. I also want to demonstrate that the sickness and death seen in the old experiments were caused by excess vitamin A, not deficiency.
I can’t help but notice that exactly 100 years have passed between that flawed study and my updated experiment!
Finding the Right Gerbils
It is now late September 2025. Finding gerbils young enough for the experiment took several months. I initially overlooked the fact that they needed to be the same age as in the 1925 study.
No pet stores near me sell gerbils that young. To solve this, I bought a male and bred him with my two females. From that, I was able to start a proper litter for the experiment.
So Maggie and Princess Z, who I originally planned to use for the study, have become my parent gerbils.
At first, I didn’t realize my young male was already the right age. Without knowing it, I had begun the experiment with him. I named him PoBoy, short for potassium. I’ve named all the “parent” gerbils after my favorite minerals — which represent actual key nutrients our bodies need.
PoBoy has now lived three months on a zero vitamin A diet. He is the first “graduate” of the project. His survival and health are proof that gerbils, like rats and humans, can live well without vitamin A.
Designing the Next Phase
Even with PoBoy’s success, I want to continue the official study, to record it properly.
This time I’ll raise two gerbils, from the same litter, in separate cages. Both were nursed by a low vitamin A mother:
- Cage One: A true zero vitamin A diet of oats, rice and beans.
- Cage Two: A recreation of the 1925 “deficient” diet, designed with the help of researcher Grant Genereux.
The 1925 diet was thought to be free of vitamin A. Yet all the rats fed that diet died of severe disease, including eye tissue decay. The flaw? It contained hidden vitamin A precursors.
Theory: The animals did not die of deficiency. They were poisoned by excess vitamin A.
(Yes, excess vitamin A causes eye degeneration, not the opposite. Zero vitamin A is not bad for eyesight. Even the common belief that carrots improve eyesight is rooted in this flawed study!)
As PoBoy and his offspring will soon prove, a zero vitamin A diet does not produce sickness in animals. Rather, they thrive without this toxin and do not need any of it in their diets.
PoBoy is healthy, active and fertile! He’s busy raising his babies, digging tunnels and running around each day, with a glossy coat of fur, clear eyes and lots of energy.
Addressing the Morality Question
At first, I wrestled with the morality of feeding a gerbil the flawed 1925 diet. But feedback convinced me it’s worth doing. People need to see the side-by-side comparison.
A true zero vitamin A diet results in health. A diet with precursors leads to sickness. Humans respond the same way: Too much vitamin A causes illness.
Why This Study Matters
The original conclusions from the 1925 study must be overturned. They shaped decades of dietary guidelines and fueled the FDA’s continued promotion of vitamin A. We must reconsider these recommendations.
U.S. foods should no longer be fortified with this toxin — cereals, milk, juice, margarine and more.
Developing and industrialized countries should stop (mandatorily) supplementing and fortifying with vitamin A.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, mass vitamin A propaganda education is spread to convince native peoples to give their children vitamin A. The so-called “deficiency” detected there is actually caused by low zinc and protein intake. Bloodwork that shows low vitamin A reflects poor nutrition, not the lack of a necessary nutrient.
(Low serum vitamin A can sometimes indicate insufficient protein and zinc intake, as protein is required for retinol-binding protein [RBP — the transporter for vitamin A in the blood], and zinc is needed for enzymes involved in vitamin A metabolism and transport. Studies from countries with plant-based, low-animal-meat diets often show poor vitamin A bioavailability, and severe zinc deficiency can impair vitamin A metabolism. In both protein-energy and zinc deficiencies, impaired transport and metabolism of vitamin A can lead to low serum vitamin A levels.)
(Western medicine wrongly concludes they understand nutrition better than less developed countries, and in the process poisons people who come for help with de-worming or to receive mosquito nets. Westerners also convince native peoples through wooing their church leaders, calling the supplement a “vitamin” and through the sweet taste of the vitamin A supplement itself.)
If we want to help these populations, we should provide better access to protein and zinc, not vitamin A.
We also need to raise awareness in countries like Canada, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Mexico, parts of the Caribbean and Central and South America, where vitamin A fortification is mandatory.
This is slow, large-scale poisoning disguised as public health.
Final Thoughts
Yes, there is a chance that one gerbil will suffer on the flawed 1925 diet. But millions of people are already suffering from hidden vitamin A toxicity. To protect human health, we must revisit the original studies and correct the record.
This small gerbil experiment is a step toward that goal.
Original post: May 2025
For over 20 years, the work of epidemiologist (a health professional who identifies the cause of a disease) Dr. Anthony Mawson has shown the toxicity of vitamin A in humans.
If you have not yet been introduced to the work of Grant Genereux, he’s spent the last ten years proving in humans that vitamin A is a toxin, not a vitamin. (He has eaten almost zero vitamin A for 10 full years. He went from being told he would die from kidney disease and being covered in eczema, to cycling with men less than half his age and having his doctor say he didn’t need to see him again. His blood work and health are now excellent.)
Grant already succeeded
He also did a rodent study to begin proving that the original rat (and other animal) studies (from 1913 to 1960) on the compound
now called “Vitamin A” were fallacious (PFP 82-114). Those original experiments are very important because all of our modern beliefs about vitamin A rest on them alone.
His experiment consisted of two gerbils fed a zero vitamin A diet for the same duration as the original studies. At the end of his study, his gerbils were healthy and thriving, with shiny coats, clear eyes and lots of energy. (The animals in the study were all dead or extremely diseased because their diet was made up, unknowingly at the time, of primarily vitamin A precursors. The animals all suffered from extreme vitamin A toxicity. The scientists concluded that humans require vitamin A for health and survival. These tests were repeated several times, but they always used the same diet.)
Grant is calling all of us to do rodent studies as well. Why?
Grant explains, “Only after hundreds of repeated experiments, yielding exactly, or very close to exactly the same results, and the experiments are conducted by many different scientists, and preferably from around the world, can a theory be regarded as a fact.” (PFP 21)
After reading Grant’s books six years ago, I immediately started the human experiment, on myself. Six years later, all of my health issues are gone or continuing to disappear (only two small issues remain that I barely notice anymore; they keep lessening). Rather than being severely ill or worse, every single symptom I had disappeared — including mental health challenges, skin issues, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain and problems with organ function.
Following a diet extremely low in vitamin A has helped my body recover from several illnesses, while it continues to cleanse my liver and other tissues.
Don’t forget Part B: The Animal Experiment
While I followed Grant’s insights for my own body, I forgot, or didn’t yet understand, the importance of his call to also help him with the animal experiment: He needs many of us to do the experiment on rodents, too. Each time one of us successfully raises gerbils or rats on a zero vitamin A diet, we continue to overturn the erroneous conclusions drawn from the first false rat studies.
Eventually, we can hope and pray that more researchers, like Dr. Mawson, will take notice.
In the meantime, people’s health is damaged daily worldwide through vitamin A fortifications in baby formula, multivitamins and even in targeted and powerful vitamin A supplementation programs throughout sub-Saharan African countries.
The damage is far-reaching and tragic, affecting tens of millions of people or more. To have some small role in stopping the poisoning is a privilege.
So, will you do it, too? I never wanted to raise gerbils. But I do now. There’s a reason, you see? What originated solely for scientific and humanitarian reasons (and out of a love for the truth), can also be a fun pet experience for our family and yours.
Grab a cage, find out exactly how to raise your gerbils on a zero vitamin A diet on page 338 in Grant’s book, and let’s get started! (It’s very easy.)
Updates on the gerbils’ health
I’ll post videos here and on YouTube as we launch our process and proceed. Sign up for my newsletter for weekly updates, if you haven’t already (each Sunday), or follow me on YouTube here.
We’re raising two girls in the same cage. Their names are Maggie and Princess Z — named after my favorite minerals: Magnesium and Zinc.
I’ll share the girls soon!
In the meantime, if you’re interested in this diet for yourself, please see the work of Dr. Garrett Smith, the leading expert on vitamin A toxicity in humans and how to recover from it. He has an excellent support community of over 2,000 people, called Love Your Liver, which I highly recommend. If you join, I’ll see you inside!
Conclusion: Why I’m Raising Gerbils: A Scientific Experiment on Vitamin A Deficiency
Thousands of humans are now involved in the human study and have already shown that human health improves when vitamin A is removed from the diet. While it may take time for our movement to gain major exposure, it has exploded from just a handful of people six years ago!
More rodent experiments will help gain visibility for the topic.
And it will help people like you and me to be absolutely sure: Vitamin A is not required by the human body to thrive, not by starving children in Africa, not by pregnant women, not by anyone, not even animals, whose feed is always fortified with it.
As Grant says about the value of participating, “This is the fantastic thing about science. All the theoretical debates can’t hold a candle to the experiment. The experiment trumps the debate. The experiment is king! The experiment quietly cuts through even the loudest rhetoric, and regardless of who’s shouting it, and proves or disproves the theory. Obviously, this is not to say that critical and logical thinking isn’t just as important as the experiment. On the contrary, critical and logical thinking is extremely important. Thus, the experiment is in no way a replacement for critical and logical thinking; rather it complements it. With that, by conducting a fun little experiment, and applying your own critical thinking, you’ll get to verify and see the results with your own eyes … What matters is that you help prove it one way or the other … you get to participate in (potentially) overturning one of the most fundamental and longest held beliefs in modern medicine. I believe it also just happens to be the very root cause of most of the chronic diseases we are dealing with in the Western world … Come on; you can’t resist being part of that, can you?” (PFP 25-26)
After you do your experiment, come back here (or elsewhere) to share your results. They need to be published. Share before and after videos in any public forum. Comment below if you need any help!
I don’t expect many of you will take me up on this! But I’m doing it, and I’ll be thrilled if you join me!
As always, Blessings!! Megan
Satoshi says
You will know you have won the moment concerns regarding “ethical rodent ownership” starts popping up in all manner of legislatures.
Megan says
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Satoshi!
Jonathan says
Another great blog post, thanks a lot Megan.
I hope that you and your family are doing well and enjoying the summer.
I have a question to you about Nicotinic acid (flush niacin)
I have never taken Nicotinic acid (flush niacin) but I’m curious to try it.
I’ve been taking notes about Nicotinic acid (flush niacin) while watching Dr. Garrett Smith’s livestreams:
Nicotinic acid (flush niacin) is an amino acid.
Flush Niacin – Give your body the boost it needs to run a faster, smooter detox experience.
Nicotinic Acid Long-Term Effectiveness in a Patient with Bipolar Type II Disorder: A Case of Vitamin Dependency:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29382049/
Nicotinic Acid aka Flush Niacin increases your bile production, and it increases your bile dumping.
The flush is a detox that detoxes vitamin A out of your skin. It helps speed up ALDH. It helps increase bile production.
It flushes the carotenoids out of the skin. Nicotinic acid speeds up ALDH. It’s the gas to run ALDH.
My question is:
Here in Europe I can not buy the Niacin from Dr. Clarks or from Dr. Garrett Smith. I can only buy a Niacin product from NOW
Nicotinic Acid: 500 mg from NOW:
https://www.nowfoods.com/products/supplements/niacin-500-mg-veg-capsules
Nicotinic Acid: 500 mg from NOW sold at iHerb: https://dk.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-niacin-500-mg-100-veg-capsules/30566
Do you think that’s the right form of Niacin and that it’s okay to use that one from NOW?
I’m trying to be careful, because I don’t want to make any mistakes.
I hope to hear your thoughts.
Thank you.
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, thank you! Yes, my family is well, and I hope you’re well, too. I’m so glad you’ve been able to watch live streams about nicotinic acid and that you’re going to try it. I do love/appreciate it and its benefits, and my husband does, too. Yes, that product you have looks perfect! It is the right kind. 🙂 Be aware that starting at that dose is pretty high and should be buffered. Do you plan to open the capsules to use just part? It would be ideal to start with 25 to 100 mg instead of 500. 500mg will not hurt most people, even if they have a strong flush, but the intensity of it might surprise you, and if you keep at that dose, it should be buffered. Have you read or listened to information on how to buffer the higher dose? There’s nothing wrong with just opening a capsule and drinking part of it in some water. Anything less than 150mg does not need to be buffered, so that’s a convenient way to go, to separate each capsule into multiple doses. (As you know, always take after a good meal, and do not take with zinc.) 🙂
Jonathan says
Hi Megan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wisdom with me – I truly appreciate it.
I didn’t realize just how much nuance there is when it comes to Niacin Nicotinic Acid, so I’m really grateful for your detailed advice. Your words always make things feel much clearer, and your kindness and knowledge are so evident, it’s honestly such a blessing to be able to learn from you.
I’ll try to buy the Niacin Nicotinic Acid 500mg from NOW, since that’s the only flush Niacin product I can get here in Scandinavia, Europe.
The intensity of the flush is something I’ve heard about, and I definitely want to ease into it rather than dive in all at once. I like the idea of starting with a lower dose, especially since I have no desire to overwhelm myself. I’ll definitely try opening the 500mg NOW Niacin capsule and splitting the dose, like you suggested.
I think I’ll start with ~ 50mg and see how I feel, then adjust if needed. It’s so comforting knowing that you’ve been down this path and have such great advice to share – it makes this whole process feel a lot less intimidating.
And about buffering? I heard Dr. Garrett Smith said in one of his livestreams, to use magnesium carbonate as a buffer. But what is the reason to buffer? That’s something I don’t quite understand. Because the flush is a good thing right, so why not just surrender to the flush and let it do its job. Is the reason for buffering higher doses, for better absorption or what?
I want to make sure I do it in the best way possible, so I appreciate any further insight you have on how to buffer effectively. Could you explain a bit more about what you mean by buffering the higher dose? I’m not entirely clear on how to do that and would appreciate any tips on how to buffer it effectively.
Regarding the zinc picolinate that I take daily (30mg) Thank you for pointing that out. I had no idea it could be an issue when combined with Niacin. I haven’t heard Dr. Smith mention anything about that in his videos. But that’s something I need to be mindful of. To clarify, does this mean on days when I take niacin, I should avoid taking zinc picolinate completely, or just not take it at the same time?
I’ve been really trying to understand how everything works together in the body. Also, I wanted to mention that I’m not a Love Your Liver member, but I’ve been following along with Dr. Smith’s livestreams and your EatBeautiful blog here for a while now. I’m just diving deep into the Low A lifestyle on my own, and I’ve found so much valuable information here and from the livestreams.
Your posts and the advice you share really resonate with me, and I feel like I’m learning so much every time I visit your blog or listen to Dr. Smiths livestreams.
Thank you again Megan for your generosity in sharing this knowledge with me.
Your ability to explain things in such a grounded and practical way makes a huge difference in how I approach all of this.
I feel so supported, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the benefits of Niacin, Nicotinic Acid for myself.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you again, but please don’t feel any pressure to reply right away. Just get back to me whenever it fits into your schedule – truly no rush at all.
With much appreciation,
Jonathan
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, I’m so glad I can be helpful. 🙂 As to why we need to buffer, it’s a great question. NA is acidic. At lower doses, this is fine, but at higher doses, we need to balance that with an alkaline source. If we don’t provide that in supplement form, the body knows it needs to handle it, so it uses the amino acid glutamine to produce ammonia and release bicarbonate from the kidneys. While this is a normal process for the body to do, our cells do better holding on to the glutamine instead of releasing it into the blood regularly to counter the high dose of NA. It burdens the body less to take a buffering agent. The extra acid in the stomach from high dose NA that is not buffered can also interfere with normal digestion. Buffering does not interfere at all with flushing. (And even when we don’t flush, NA is doing good in our bodies. That reaction won’t always happen.)
Re zinc, we ideally keep taking both, but we just separate NA and zinc by a minimum of one hour. I try to always take my NA after a good meal, so I take it first, and then zinc an hour or two later. I’m happy for your progress. Best and blessings!
Jonathan says
Hi Megan,
Sorry for the late reply. I’ve been helping out a carpenter lately and working quite a bit to save up some money.
But thanks so much again for your thoughtful and informative message. It really means a lot to me how clearly and kindly you explain things – I truly appreciate it. Your insight about the need to buffer nicotinic acid (NA), especially at higher doses, was incredibly helpful. I hadn’t thought about how the acidity could tax the body or deplete glutamine. That really clicked for me and gave me more confidence about how to move forward intentionally with this.
I haven’t started taking NA yet, but I plan to order the NOW brand Nicotinic Acid 500 mg capsules soon. Once I get them, I was thinking of opening a capsule and starting with half (250 mg). I remember hearing that Dr. Garrett Smith recommends buffering when taking more than 200 mg per day.
Would you be willing to share a buffer chart or some measurements for how much baking soda (or whatever buffer you use) to take with different amounts of NA? I haven’t been able to find a clear answer on the ratio – not even in the interview between Thor Torrens and Kelsey Kenney on YouTube (“How Kelsey Kenney healed her chronic fatigue on a low vitamin A diet”), which is otherwise a great video about NA and chronic fatigue.
I’ve been taking the following supplements, though I haven’t done any testing. Since starting a low vitamin A lifestyle, I’ve added:
30 mg Zinc Picolinate (Pure Encapsulations)
100 mcg Molybdenum Glycinate (Kirkman)
100 mcg Selenium (L-selenomethionine) (NOW brand)
I didn’t have any negative side effects when starting those three, even though I know Dr. Smith has said some people react strongly to them and need to start with microdoses. I don’t think I’m one of the “sledgehammer” types he mentions – I’m a 39-year-old guy and more of an “under-type” by nature.
Your tip about taking NA after a solid meal and spacing it out from zinc was also super helpful – I’ll definitely try that rhythm. It’s encouraging to know that even small adjustments like that can make a meaningful difference in how our bodies process things.
I also wanted to share a note I took from one of Dr. Smith’s livestreams about NA. He said:
“When I started taking nicotinic acid, I got the 25 mg pills from Dr. Clark’s and started at one 25 mg pill a day. Then I worked my way up to 500 mg, and now I take 2500 mg a day. Lots of people in the Love Your Liver program are only at 100 mg per day. If you have a strong flush even at low doses, you might still be toxic. The flush helps clear carotenoids from the skin. NA boosts ALDH – it’s the fuel to run that detox enzyme. It also increases bile production. If you flush intensely, your skin may be holding onto a lot of toxicity.”
I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about how to buffer properly, especially when going over 200 mg. Would you be willing to share the buffer ratios with me?
I just want to make sure I’m supporting my body in the right way as I begin this.
Thanks again for everything, Megan – your support and guidance really make a difference. Sending blessings and appreciation your way.
Warmly,
Jonathan
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, I’m glad you’re well and have been able to add in the three minerals you mentioned with no issues. Everyone in my family is similar. We were able to add in those minerals at normal dosages without any problems. As for buffering NA, I have a helpful, and a little funny, resource: And that’s that you can actually use ChatGPT for any and all buffering information. So you’ll just ask ChatGPT to figure it out for you by typing in something like: “How much baking soda do I need to buffer 250mg flush niacin (nicotinic acid)?” And it will tell you the scientific process by which it figures it out, and give you the correct answer. In this case, I entered it, and the answer is 171 mg of baking soda, or it says, “In practice, you can round this up to about 175–200 mg to ensure full buffering.” Isn’t that great and easy? I learned of this actually from Dr. Smith! And the answer matches perfectly with the chart in the LYL group. This way I won’t be “stealing” the LYL group info, and you’ve got the resource you need for this dose or other doses. One other note, even though Dr. Smith went up to 2500 mg a day of NA, and others have before him, I got a symptom that wasn’t ideal when I went to 2000 mg of NA. So I would caution anyone about going that high, or just to be careful at the highest doses. I’m currently now taking 400 mg daily, but I won’t go above 1000 mg or similar this time. This may not be relevant for your body, but just to be aware. Best to you!
Jonathan says
Hi Megan,
Sorry for the delayed response – I’ve been working hard lately, saving up for a few important things like the AquaTru Classic Water Filter, grass-fed beef, Zinc picolinate, Molybdenum, Nicotinic Acid / Flush Niacin, Activated hardwood charcoal, and yeast-free Selenium.
Thank you so much for your reply and for sharing the Nicotinic Acid / Flush Niacin buffer chart. Thanks a lot.
I heard Dr. Garrett Smith saying the following in one of his videos:
**Potassium bicarbonate is great for buffering flush niacin. I buffer my flush niacin with Potassium bicarbonate. But do not take Potassium bicarbonate, Magnesium bicarbonate, Baking soda / sodium bicarbonate as a supplement, do not take alkaline supplements to get minerals. Do only use those 3 mentioned ones to mix with your Nicotinic Acid / Flush Niacin.**
My question to you Megan is, which one of those 3 above NA buffers, do you prefer to use?
Also, I’m curious to hear if you are doing blood donations?
I heard Dr. Garrett Smith saying this in one of his videos:
**By donating blood, it’s a way to get toxicity / chunks of vitamin A out of your blood – serum retinol and beta carotene flows around in your blood. By donating blood, it takes a chunk of copper and vA out of the blood.**
I have also been watching some “low vitamin A lifestyle” testimonials with some of the Love Your Liver members at a guy called Thor Torrens YouTube channel.
Those were some great testimonials, and I found the videos inspiring.
He said that the highest Vitamin A (Serum Retinol) blood levels Dr. Garrett Smith has seen was around 99.
According to the “pleb doctors / the labs” anything below 20 is deficient, and anything below 10 is severely deficient.
But obviously we don’t want our retinol numbers to be anywhere near the top of the reference rate. :o)
He also said this:
**Getting off vitamin D (rat poison) supplements, it usually takes around 1 year to get the levels down, after you stop supplementing.
Vitamin A: Might take 2-3-4 years to get the levels down.
Copper: Might take 2-3-4 years to get the levels down… obviously all depending on your health background, and how you live your life now, and how well you are doing the low vitamin A diet approach, but don’t be surprised if your vitamin A levels go up, before they go back down – that’s your liver dumping the vitamin A and wanting to get rid of it.
And you might see it be on a plateau for maybe some years, before it makes a huge drop.**
Thanks again Megan for your support, it means a lot to me, and I am sending blessings to you and your family.
Kind regards from Scandinavia ~
Jonathan.
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, I love the quotes you chose to include here; thanks for those valuable insights and reminders. Great to hear about the testimonials, too. I haven’t seen Thor’s channel; I’ll check it out. Regarding which buffering mineral to use, I’d say Potassium bicarbonate may be the best, because if we need to get more of any mineral that we’re not getting enough of already, it would be potassium. Extra Mg can send some people to the bathroom, and most of us get enough sodium. That being said, it is subjective, and baking soda is cheap. So baking soda may work best for some people’s constitution and budget. And if anyone still struggles with constipation on the program, the Magnesium bicarbonate could be helpful. Each mineral has its benefits, and each body is unique. Perhaps go with your intuition to start based on what you know, and then take it from there. I’ve used all three, and the Magnesium bicarbonate is the only one I don’t use. (I mention side effects of too much Mg because some people end up taking the higher doses of niacin, in which case you’d need quite a lot of the buffering agent. It can then have more of an effect on your body. Similarly, this is relevant for taking a lot of baking soda; it ends up being too much sodium at the high doses. So here we see that potassium is the safest choice at high doses.) Best wishes!
AJ says
Megan! This is so fun! I am very curious on how your experiment will unfold!! Also, amazing on 6 years and all the positive health benefits!!! 🙂
Two questions:
1. I listened to a Dr. Garret’s recent podcast and him talking about you on YouTube. Then, saw your comment that you are pretty much eating the same 4 foods. Can you share what they are? I know you’ve been experimenting for so many years, and would love to know what’s currently working for you. 🙏
2. I often wonder about the low vitamin A diet and how you know it’s actually the vitamin A? Because if you look at what Grant eats – he is low on so many things — low overall oxalates (with exception of beans), low salicylates, low histamine/amines, low glutamates, low aldehydes, lower on phytates and lower on lectins, etc. So, in theory couldn’t those things also be impacting people’s transformation on low vitamin A diet as well?
Thank you so much for your thoughts!!
Megan says
Hi AJ, good questions, and thanks for your kind words. 🙂 The four foods I mainly eat (95% or more of my diet) are poultry, oats, brown rice and white masa. Most people could/should also include apples for fiber. I don’t need them because of using zeolite, SunFiber/psyllium, and fruit doesn’t agree with me. I can eat a little beef, and many would do well to include it, or buffalo. Some could include a small amount of beans, banana etc. Everyone’s different. But after years, I’ve found these are my gentlest foods, and three of them are nourishing (not so much the white masa). I eat mostly oats, rice and chicken/turkey.
Regarding how we can know if one’s progress is from eliminating vitamin A or another compound, one of the main ways is symptoms. For example, if someone has salicylate toxicity, they’ll have certain symptoms. Similarly, we see oxalates manifest in certain organs and with certain symptoms. Likewise with vitamin A, from various studies and many real life toxicity examples, we can see that vitamin A manifests in the skin, kidneys, eyes etc. We can see in Grant’s life that how he found vitamin A was the culprit to begin with was he looked at his symptoms and then researched hard to see what linked to those, then also thought about what he’d changed in his life before his kidney disease and very extreme eczema: It was the fish oil pills he’d started taking. So a very easy link to vitamin A there. Same thing for me: I was struggling with mental health, kidney and MCAS. I researched for long long hours, and the one common denominator I found was vitamin A. Then, the one thing I removed was vitamin A, and the three symptoms I mentioned went away. Over time, I did move to a low oxalate diet to address other symptoms, but in following Dr. Smith’s wisdom I reintroduced some oxalates, and now don’t worry about them. I also went low salicylate, but not for long. Aldehydes, yes, those are reduced, but that’s more an example like copper. They’re not healthy and slow detox, so just another food compound to avoid for best health and detox, but not to blame for all the symptoms that are easily linked to vitamin A from so many case studies etc. As for the other food compounds, I could go through each one, but none of them are linked to all the symptoms and reversal of them that vitamin A is. I could give up high glutamate or histamine foods and never see progress with my skin or kidneys. I once was concerned about lectins, but with a healthy gut, I don’t have to worry about them anymore. Etc. I hope that helps!
Jonathan says
Dear Megan,
I hope you and your family are doing well.
I really admire the care and dedication you’re putting into this gerbil experiment – it’s genuinely wonderful. 🙂
You mentioned that their diet includes oats, rice, and beans, and I’m curious to hear more about the types of beans. Are they white navy beans, pinto beans, or something else? Do you stick to only one type of beans, or do you offer a variety such as navy beans, pinto beans or black beans?
As far as I know, the beans that are lowest in vitamin A/beta carotene and polyphenols are the white bean types (Navy beans, Great Northern beans, Lima beans, Cannellini beans) When I started eating beans I started with black beans, but I got blisters on my tongue and inside my mouth from chewing them, so I had a long break without beans. Later I learned from Dr. Garrett Smith that black beans are high in polyphenols, and polyphenols are slightly toxic and slow down detox.
Then some months later I tried soaked and pressure cooked navy beans, and now I am eating them everyday, they are definitely my personal favorite. There’s something about their texture and mild flavor that really resonates with me – and as a bonus, they have the highest fiber content of all beans, which makes them especially nourishing. 🙂
I’m looking forward to following the gerbil experiment.
Blessings. <3
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your kind words and encouragement! Yes, the family is well. 🙂 Thanks for the insight about black beans! I did try black beans twice with the parent gerbils, but they don’t prefer them (interesting with the info you shared!). They love chickpeas (and look so cute eating them, like big apples in their little paws), but I’ve concluded the same as you, that white beans are the best — just like the best for humans! At least for me, same as you, I do best with white beans. (Chickpeas do have a very small carotenoid content, which figures with their color, so they won’t do for the baby gerbils/rats on the almost zero vA diet.) For whatever reason, navy beans don’t agree with anyone in our family, as they give us more gas. I looked it up, and Google tells me that navy beans likely have more oligosaccharides because they are denser and richer in total carbs and fiber than white northern beans. I’m glad you can tolerate them! We love and do best with white northern beans, but cannellini work well, too, for us. While I still give the parent gerbils chickpeas, I will only give the test “babies” white Northern or cannellini beans. I could give them navy beans, but we don’t cook them anymore. I haven’t done butter beans in a while, but I do love them, and they agree with us, so I’d be fine giving them to the rodents, too. So yes: I came to similar conclusions! I love the chart you’ve attached. Thanks for the interesting topic and all of your insights! By the way, I’m using the broader term rodents, because I may need to switch my experiment to using rats. I have seven baby rats right now, next to the cage of parent gerbils. I suspect our long-awaited male gerbil has some fertility issues, which I plan to include info about in one of my gerbil videos. So while waiting for our next litter, I decided I needed to get going. I’ve started two rats on the rainbow diet, but I’m making sure all of the others are strong and healthy before beginning the two other diets with them… I never expected to get stalled at this stage, but this is my first true science experience, so I guess I’m finding out the hard way all the variables and challenges that can arise. Blessings!
Jonathan says
Hi Megan,
Thank you for such a warm and thoughtful message. I really appreciate everything you shared with me.
Ehehe! I can totally picture the gerbils holding their chickpeas like tiny apples – that image made me smile.
It’s wonderful that you’re tuning in so carefully to what agrees with each species (and with your own family), and I completely understand the decision to stick with white northern or cannellini beans.
I can buy organic chickpeas at the supermarkets here, but I rarely eat them. To be honest, I don’t find them as tasty as white beans.
I love great northern beans and cannellini beans, but I mostly eat navy beans because they’re the ones I can always find organic in supermarkets here. Great northern beans are available organic as well, but they cost a bit more and I have to order them online.
I usually place a large order of organic northern beans so I always have plenty on hand. I like rotating between those two white bean types – organic navy beans and organic northern beans – for variety, and I go through phases where I do that consistently. But most of the time, I stick to a simple routine: organic navy beans, rolled oats, and either brown or white rice for my carbohydrates.
When I prepare beans, I soak them overnight and rinse them several times the next morning. Then I soak them again in clean water for a few hours before pressure-cooking them in the Instant Pot on High Pressure & Normal, and letting the pressure release naturally. It’s such a nourishing food for me – if I’m under a lot of stress or working intensely, sometimes I’ll just eat a spoonful of beans and feel noticeably calmer within minutes.
I’m definitely an under-type and it’s always been difficult for me to maintain a healthy weight. I’ve heard Dr. Garrett Smith saying that under-types have more bile circulating in the bloodstream, and that undertypes can’t hold weight because bile isn’t going into the gut as much.
As you know, we recycle bile constantly. The excess adrenaline in our bloodstream – adrenaline we were never meant to carry at such high levels – gets pulled out by the liver and sent into the bile. When I eat a spoonful of beans, their soluble fiber helps prevent that adrenaline from re-entering my bloodstream, which brings my anxiety down. Stress increases our nutrient needs, and the more nourished our body is, the less our adrenals have to activate just to get us through the day. That’s especially important when recovering from stress and trauma, like I am. Under stress we produce more hormones that need to be cleared, and soluble fiber helps with that. During digestion, the soluble fiber in beans binds to toxic bile, helping to remove toxins – and adrenaline from the body.
Beans have helped me tremendously with anxiety and stress.
I’m always looking for the small wins – They matter. I count them, every little step forward means you’re improving. Notice the ways you’re getting better, even in small ways. That’s how I stay on track.
Anyway, thank you for reading my message, and thank you for being you. And truly – props again for doing this experiment. I’m looking forward to following it. Hang in there Megan. What you’re doing takes courage, attention and a lot of heart. Even when things stall or shift unexpectedly, it doesn’t diminish the integrity of your work. If anything, it strengthens it. <3
Blessings ~
J
Megan says
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your insightful words. It makes me happy to picture you eating so well, and understanding how each bite nourishes you and resets, when needed. I also do the one spoonful of white beans at times! I appreciate your explanation of what’s happening physiologically and how they’re beneficial when we’re struggling with stress. Thank you also for your encouragement!! Many blessings, Megan 🙂