> [Soybean oil in [[supplements]]] The small amount of oil in a capsule doesn't matter much. Any capsule should have the highest potency in the smallest size, to minimize the junk. > Yes, it's definitely hard to get them coordinated when there's an imbalance in one direction or the other. For several years, when I had an extremely high metabolic rate, I needed 100,000 units per day during sunny weather to prevent [[acne]] and ingrown whiskers, but when I moved to a cloudy climate, suddenly that much was too much, and suppressed my [[thyroid]]. The average person is likely to be hypothyroid, and to need only 5,000 units per day. Avoiding large amounts of carotene, and getting plenty of vitamin B12 to be able to convert any carotene that's in your food, helps to use vitamin A efficiently. > Yes, vitamin A and estrogen are antagonistic, and while estrogen promotes keratinization (shedding of [[skin]] cells), vitamin A opposes it. Since vitamin A is highly unsaturated, in excess it suppresses the [[thyroid]], so it has to be balanced with the [[thyroid]]; the combination is effective for increasing [[progesterone]] and decreasing estrogen, slowing the turnover of [[skin]] cells, and making the [[skin]] cells function longer before flaking off. Plugged pores, combined with a local shift toward synthesizing inflammatory substances, foster bacterial infection. Bright [[light]] stimulates the production of steroids, and consumes vitamin A very quickly, but when the balance is right, the [[acne]] clears up in just a day or two. Cream, butter, [[eggs]], and liver are good sources of vitamin A. When people supplement [[thyroid]] and eat liver once or twice a week, their [[acne]] and dandruff (and many other problems) usually clear up very quickly. It was [[acne]] and dandruff that led me into studying the steroids and [[thyroid]], and in the process I found that they were related to constipation and food sensitivity. > I found that I had an extremely high vitamin A requirement, increased by stress or bright [[light]], and that it related to [[thyroid]] function. Usually, [[thyroid]] and vitamin A are the [[supplements]] that stop [[acne]]. > I avoid carotene, because it blocks [[thyroid]] and steroid production, and very large, excessive, amounts of vitamin A, retinol, can do the same. I use halibut liver oil-derived vitamin A, or retinyl palmitate. > A solution of [[aspirin]] in water on the [[skin]] helps with the [[inflammation]], and is mildly germicidal. > Estrogen causes the oil glands to atrophy, so the [[skin]] doesn't support bacterial growth so well. Topical sulfur's germicidal effect can help, and topical [[aspirin]] and [[caffeine]] are antiseptic as well as antiinflammatory. One function of vitamin A is to increase [[progesterone]] in the [[skin]], and it has to be in balance with [[thyroid]] to do that. Another function is to differentiate the [[skin]] cells, reducing keratin plugging of the glands. > For several years, I had a similar need to take 100,000 i.u. daily to prevent [[acne]] and ingrown whiskers, so I read a lot about its effects. The toxic effects of extremely big doses, such as 500,000 to a million i.u., seem to be from either oxidative processes (rancidity) that are prevented by adequate [[vitamin E]], or by antithyroid effects. I found that when my need for vitamin A began to decrease I tended to accumulate carotene in my calluses; that happens when the [[thyroid]] function is lower, reducing the need for vitamin A. Since you are eating foods with carotene, the calluses on your palms or soles should serve as an indicator of when your tissues are saturated with vitamin A. About 100 i.u. of [[vitamin E]] would help to keep the vitamin A from being wasted by oxidation, and possibly could reduce your requirement for it. > [Are vitamin A [[supplements]] inherently allergenic or are they allergenic just because of modern production processes?] It's something in the manufactured product that's not in the natural. > [Do you know of a good product by the way] I use Nutrisorb-A on my [[skin]]. > [On [this [[study]]](https://archive.ph/o/OJZkW/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14668278)] I think it would have been possible for any one of those six co-authors to write an equally worthless paper. The amount of "water-miscible, emulsified, and solid preparations" would have been about 40,000 i.u. per day for an average sized person, but there was no clear definition of what they mean by chronic hypervitaminosis A. > [Eye trouble and very dry [[skin]]] Vitamin A oxidizes easily and an excess can create symptoms of a deficiency, so [[vitamin E]] is the most important thing for correcting it; excess vitamin A, like [[PUFA]], interferes with [[thyroid]] hormone transport, so it’s important to balance the two.