There are two forms of vitamin A...prEformed and PrOformed.
PrEformed vitamin A, known as the active form of the vitamin, which your body can use just as it is. It's found in animal products including meat, chicken, fish and dairy and includes the compounds retinol, retinal and retinoic acid. The excess will be stored in the body...so it can build up....so we have to be careful with it.
Provitamin A is from carotenoids, such as beta-carotene and is the inactive form of vitamin A found in plants. These compounds are converted to the active prEformed form in the body. So beta-carotene is converted to retinol....an active form of vitamin A... in your small intestine, for example....and prOFormed can only be used when it is converted.
So prEformed is ready to go and as a result can build up in the system and lead to issues but prOformed has to be convertedand cant be used until it is....so since the body converts prOformed only when needed and the rest of the carotenes pass out of the body....it's not dangerous...can't be overdosed.
This would mean that the prEformed will be used by the chameleon and the excess prEformed is stored....while get prOformed will just be excreted.
Now...one more complication comes into this....vitamin D3 and vitamin A are antagonistic to each other and need to be in balance so they can both do their jobs and not interfere with each other. (Vitamin D's job is of course to transport the calcium to the bones and anywhere else it needs to go.)
I hope this helps. There are some good articles/blogs out there....but I'm being lazy and not looking them up to post right now.
Does this help @MissSkittles?
PrEformed vitamin A, known as the active form of the vitamin, which your body can use just as it is. It's found in animal products including meat, chicken, fish and dairy and includes the compounds retinol, retinal and retinoic acid. The excess will be stored in the body...so it can build up....so we have to be careful with it.
Provitamin A is from carotenoids, such as beta-carotene and is the inactive form of vitamin A found in plants. These compounds are converted to the active prEformed form in the body. So beta-carotene is converted to retinol....an active form of vitamin A... in your small intestine, for example....and prOFormed can only be used when it is converted.
So prEformed is ready to go and as a result can build up in the system and lead to issues but prOformed has to be convertedand cant be used until it is....so since the body converts prOformed only when needed and the rest of the carotenes pass out of the body....it's not dangerous...can't be overdosed.
This would mean that the prEformed will be used by the chameleon and the excess prEformed is stored....while get prOformed will just be excreted.
Now...one more complication comes into this....vitamin D3 and vitamin A are antagonistic to each other and need to be in balance so they can both do their jobs and not interfere with each other. (Vitamin D's job is of course to transport the calcium to the bones and anywhere else it needs to go.)
I hope this helps. There are some good articles/blogs out there....but I'm being lazy and not looking them up to post right now.
Does this help @MissSkittles?
