Recent research from Cornell University, recently published in Nature, reveals that increasing obesity leads to poor uptake of Vitamin A in the organ tissues of mammals including humans.  Vitamin A (Retinol) is a key vitamin that helps in gene expression and regulation.   Vitamin A uptake has been shown to diminish in obese patients and patient with hepatic steatosis [fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFTL)].

This is a key finding and gives further evidence of the genetic expression of obesity and it’s effect on both the parent and the child.   What is even more fascinating is that this appears to lead to alteration in immune response and changes in cellular differentiation in the human organs.   This means that the Vitamin A deficiencies within the organs are being driven by fatty liver infiltration that is driven by insulin resistance.  This Vitamin A deficiency cannot be detected with a blood test as serum levels of Vitamin A remain normal and has significant roll in masking the cause of autoimmunity function we are seeing more and more of throughout the world.

Metabolic effects of vitamins on the Immune System

So how do you get your Vitamin A in a ketogenic diet?  Vitamin A can be found in meats (specifically liver and organ meats), eggs, butter, and cod liver oil.  It can also be found in leafy greens, squash and peppers.  The reduction in insulin production that occurs in a low-carb, ketogenic and even paleolithic diet reduces the fatty liver infiltration that arises with the standard american diet (SAD diet).  Clinically, I have seen people reverse the steatosis of the liver within 12 months in my practice through carbohydrate restriction.

More research is needed, of course, but the take home message is that the ketogenic lifestyle plays an even greater roll in genetics and immunity than we ever thought.  More to come . . . I’m sure.