Quote from Dr. Garrett Smith on March 15, 2019, 3:30 pm

People wonder how this Poison/"Vitamin A" problem got so far.  It is because the scientists and researchers involved in studying it very unscientifically decided that Poison/"Vitamin A" was a necessary and good thing, and that they would need to twist and tweak any evidence that came in saying otherwise. Creating doubts in people's minds about the importance of Poison/"Vitamin A" was not something they were willing to risk, so propaganda became necessary.

This is seen at the start of every Poison/"Vitamin A" study, especially where problems caused by it are shown.  A re-hashing of all the supposed "benefits" of Poison/"Vitamin A" are reviewed--because they feel the need to convince you of how important it is--when the research they are about to show you suggests quite the opposite.  This confuses the non-skeptical, particularly the non-science-minded reader, who tends to let their brain shut off at that point.  Right off the bat, they are reminded of the propaganda that "Vitamin A is good, ignore the trail of blood our study is about to show", and then there's the whole mind-trick of saying the word "vitamin" every time one says "Vitamin A"...people have an association with "vitamins" being good and necessary, so they propagandize themselves every time they say or write it.

I'm going to show you how scientists ignore the very definitions of terms in order to do things like say "carotenoids can't/won't ever cause hypervitaminosis A", when their own research is showing it does.

This is the paper that chooses to ignore technical definitions of words in order to hide the truth.  Remember the scientific fact that a beta-carotene molecule can be cut into TWO retinol molecules (which can be measured by serum retinol), and carotenoids stored in the skin (carotenoderma) can be converted into retinyl esters the storage form of Poison/"Vitamin A"):

Carotenoderma – a review of the current literature

A number of mechanisms are presumed to be responsible for carotenemia (Table 1). The most common is excessive dietary consumption of β‐carotene. Carotenemia may be observed 4–7 weeks after initiation of a diet rich in carotenoids.5 Foods with high β‐carotene contents are listed in Table 2. In these cases of carotenemia, serum levels of vitamin A may be normal or elevated, although never high enough to cause hypervitaminosis A.
[...]
There is, however, an agreement that carotenemia is not associated with vitamin A toxicity.

The thing you should first notice is that they are REALLY trying to convince you that there is NO association between carotenoids and Vitamin A toxicity aka hypervitaminosis A. This is the non-sense that is thrown around.  Let me chop that up into little pieces.

I've already shown you above that carotenoids can be turned into retinol and retinyl esters, both of which are individually associated with Vitamin A toxicity.  Science, Exhibit 1.

I have at least 3 other case study papers on this blog-forum showing that excess carotenoid consumption has led to hypervitaminosis A.  Real-life evidence, Exhibit 2.

Here is Exhibit 3, from medical laboratory terminology.

What does "hypervitaminosis" actually mean?  It is "an abnormal state resulting from excessive intake of one or more vitamins".

Serum retinol, also called serum Vitamin A (see above), when it is high out-of-normal-range (also called ELEVATED), can be used by itself as a diagnosis of hypervitaminosis A.  Let's go through some sources on this one:

From LabCorp's info on their serum Vitamin A test:

Synonyms:

• A, Vitamin
• Retinol, Serum

Use:

Differential diagnosis of hypervitaminosis A.

From Medscape, Vitamin Toxicity Workup - Vitamin A:

For serum carotene, the normal range is 50-300 mcg/dL. Carotene levels reflects dietary intake of vitamin A.

Laboratory studies in vitamin A toxicity include the following:

• Serum electrolytes - If vomiting or diarrhea is present

• Serum calcium - Hypercalcemia may be observed ^[42]

• Liver function tests (LFTs)

• Complete blood count (CBC) - For anemia, leukopenia, or thrombocytopenia

• Vitamin A assessment by serum retinol concentrations - Vitamin A assessment by serum retinol concentrations may be helpful if the level is markedly high; in mild conditions, however, it may not be sensitive

• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

From the Mayo Clinic, on Serum Vitamin A:

Clinical Information - Vitamin A:
The level of vitamin A in the plasma or serum is a reflection of the quantities of vitamin A and carotene ingested and absorbed by the intestine (carotene is converted to vitamin A by intestine absorptive cells and hepatocytes).
[...]
Vitamin A values above 120.0 mcg/dL suggest hypervitaminosis A and associated toxicity.

From LabTestsOnline.org on the Vitamin A blood test (formerly called Retinol):

What does the test result mean?
A high vitamin A blood level typically indicates that the capacity to store vitamin A has been exceeded and excess vitamin A is now circulating in the blood and may be deposited in other tissue, leading to toxicity.

I hope it has become plainly obvious to you that carotenoids DO raise blood Vitamin A levels (serum retinol), and that blood Vitamin A levels are used to diagnose hypervitaminosis A, and that hypervitaminosis A really means Vitamin A toxicity.

It's all right there.  Just because the scientists keep repeating themselves and claiming that one can't lead to the other, does NOT mean that it is true or correct.