Serum Vitamin A vs Beta Carotene

[Bagaof4]

My A came back a tad high (87 with a range of 18-77)so I will reduce it to one 25,000 dry Palmitate capsule/day and may eventually phase it out. I have been gradually reducing it over time.

For some reason the doctor ordered a beta-carotene test which came back very low (2 with a range of 50-300). He says Beta Carotene is a 'precursor' to Vitamin A and normal A results along with low Beta Carotene results means I am not eating enough colorful vegetables. When I look this up, I see that fat malabsorption results in poor Beta Carotene absorption. Beta Carotene is fat soluble. So if my Serum A is good, why do I need to worry about the Beta Carotene levels?

Can anyone explain this to me?

 

[DBmom23]

My understanding of vitamin A is that the primary dietary source is beta carotene which is then converted to vitamin A. This process is highly regulated by the body making elevated vitamin A levels very uncommon unless someone is supplementing directly with vitamin A. Perhaps your doc is confused about your levels as I can see no reason to check beta carotene.