BCO1

The BCO1 gene is responsible for making a protein (BCMO1) that is involved in the conversion of beta-carotene into retinoic acid (active form of vitamin A) that can be used by the body.

Vitamin A is crucial for your brain, immune system, skin, eyes, teeth, bones and for the formation of hormones. Vitamin A protects our eyes and skin from UV damage, so it will allow you to get UV and limit skin cancer risk [R].

Vitamin A is important for thyroid hormone and vitamin D function. Vitamin A might benefit obesity [R].

Vitamin A is important for brain function- particularly forming memory. and vitamin A deficiency causes a circadian dysrhythmia [R, R].

Read: The Importance of Real Vitamin A (Retinol)

Vitamin A is Important For Vitamin D and Your Thyroid Hormones to Work Properly

Vitamin A/Retinol is crucial for activating the Retinoid X Receptors (RXR), which is required for PPAR activation (DHA can also activate RXR) (R) 

Vitamin A is also crucial in activating Retinoic Acid Receptors (RAR). Both RAR and RXR are crucial DNA binding proteins (transcription factors), which are needed for genetic expression.  

RXR is needed to activate the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the Thyroid Hormone Receptor (THR). In simple English, this means if you're deficient in vitamin A you can take all the vitamin D you want and it won't make that much of a difference because you need adequate vitamin A to make these work properly.

Vitamin D needs RXR in order to get the benefits from it (R) and Thyroid hormones need RXR to work effectively. (R)

We also make pregnenolone from LDL cholesterol and use free T3 and Vitamin A.  So low pregnenolone could indicate a vitamin A inadequacy.

Vitamin A and The Immune System

Vitamin A increases your Th2 immune system and decreases Th1 and Th17.  

It's especially important for your gut immune system. Vitamin

A has other important immune functions and may help you even if you're Th2 dominant, but it will be less likely to help you than a Th1 dominant person such as myself.

However, if your Th1 dominant and have low PPARs, you want to make sure your diet includes real vitamin A. Vitamin A/RXR is crucial for inducing oral tolerance to proteins and it increases Tregs.

Vitamin A and 'Adrenal Fatigue'

Vitamin A-deficient animals have lower adrenal hormone production. (R) Another study shows that Vitamin A deficient rats had excess cortisol and a hyper cortisol response. When they were given vitamin A their cortisol normalized. (R)

Vitamin A and Weight

Vitamin A might benefit obesity by increasing UCP1 in mice, which increases heat loss/fat burning.  But studies in humans haven't had the same results. (R)

Vitamin A and the Brain

Vitamin A/Retinol plays a central role in increasing neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. It's critical to our hippocampus and hypothalamus, which controls memory and wakefulness, respectively.  (R)

Indeed, vitamin A is important for long-term potentiation (LTP), which is important to form memories. (R)

Vitamin A deficiency causes a circadian dysrhythmia, which in turn results in cognitive dysfunction. (R)

Vitamin A and the Circadian Rhythm

Vitamin A is critical to have a normal circadian rhythm and Animals fed a Vitamin A (retinol) deficient diet have a circadian rhythm that doesn't work in synchrony. (R)

When Vitamin A  causes a circadian dysrhythmia it likely results in cognitive dysfunction. (R)

Specifically, the deficient diet caused an altered rhythm of antioxidant production by our body (Glutathione, catalase, GPx) and BDNF.  This results in suboptimal cognitive performance. (R, R2, R3)

The rhythms of these antioxidant enzymes are important because in some parts of the day we do better with more internal antioxidants, while at other times we do better with less.

Vitamin A-deficient animals also had reduced periods of wakefulness and energy expenditure (locomotor activity). (R)

In addition to being important for daily rhythms, retinoic acid is also important for seasonal rhythms. (R)

Vitamin A and Blood Glucose

Vitamin A is essential to beta cell function in the pancreas, which is responsible for insulin release. Its deficiency leads to excess glucose in the blood. (R, R2)

The Bad

Vitamin A does compete with vitamin D and K2 and studies show higher vitamin A is associated with lower bone density (R).

Eat liver or supplement with retinol (Vitamin A/Retinol) Alcohol depletes Vitamin A, so stay away from it.

Increase PPARgamma….BCMO1 is controlled by PPARgamma (R)