Is Vitamin A toxicity or overdose a concern when taking liver supplements?

Vitamin A toxicity or overdose has become something of a bogeyman on certain social media channels and in certain corners of the internet.  Is it something to truly be concerned about?  We don't really think so, and we explain why below.

Most of the concern for Vitamin A toxicity or overdose came about from a few social media influencers who stumbled across this study, and made some wild extrapolations from it:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7189278/

This is a case study about young children who indeed acquired a Vitamin A toxicity from chicken liver.  Said influencers' takeaway from the story was that liver is dangerous, and freeze-dried liver supplements are not benign--nor are they beneficial--but should be avoided!  I have some sympathy for this view, as it is quite normal for a caring individual to be concerned for the safety of young ones, and to err on the side of caution.

That said, I do not believe that fear of Vitamin A toxicity is warranted in this case.  There are several things from this case study to strongly consider, in my view.  Firstly, let's note that the infants in the study were consuming chicken liver pate. There is a similar study on another infant who also exhibited vitamin A toxicity from liver consumption--chicken liver.  What we will notice is that there is not a single case study in all of medical literature, featuring infants or otherwise, of Vitamin A toxicity or overdose from consuming ruminant species liver such as bison, beef, sheep, etc.  So that is one very important distinguishing factor, and I believe that ruminant species are much safer to consume.

Further, it is worth noting that liver pate is not the same as liver--pate is a blend of chicken liver with other foods to enhance palatability, and this can encourage consumption that would be heavier than otherwise.  The infants were also consuming this pate daily in significant quantities, likely eating up to an entire liver or more each!  Further, the infants were just that--infants.  They are small humans with a much smaller daily requirement of Vitamin A.

This leads me to the next point--dosing.  If you are eating spoonfuls of liver or liver pate every single day, such as the infants in the study, then perhaps vitamin A toxicity is an issue.  However, the RDA for Vitamin A correlates to the equivalent of about 0.5-1oz of fresh beef or bison liver daily.  Roughly 3-6 capsules of our 100% grass-fed bison freeze-dried liver complex correlates to about 0.5-1oz of fresh liver.  So, if you are extremely diligent about taking your supplements EVERY day, you are likely just reaching the recommended daily value for Vitamin A.  You'd need to be consuming even more to achieve toxic levels.

In conclusion, we think it is difficult to acquire a Vitamin A overload from consuming ruminant animal species such as bison or beef.  You'd really need to make the effort, or have other special circumstances such as being an infant and consuming high doses daily!  If you are still concerned, it is also worth noting that as soon as the infants stopped consuming the liver, their Vitamin A toxicity abated and the symptoms self-corrected.

Key Takeaways

- Infants require far less daily Vitamin A than adults do

- All liver is not created equal.  All studies citing Vitamin A toxicity from liver consumption has been from chicken liver, not from bison, beef, sheep, or any ruminant species.

-Liver pate is a palatable way to consume liver, but can lead to overconsumption

-Dosing is important.  For a full-grown human, 0.5-1oz of fresh organs per day achieves RDA of Vitamin A without pushing into possibility of toxicity.  This correlates to about 3-6 capsules of our supplement daily.

-Vitamin A toxicity from foods can self-correct as soon as Vitamin A-rich foods stop being consumed.