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Smoking status: not checked. Vitamin A: what these mean for you changes depending on whether you smoke or used to, and you have not told us. That check was skipped.
Head-to-head evidence comparison — which supplement is right for you?
Guggul vs Vitamin A: Vitamin A has the stronger overall evidence (7 vs 4/10); they're alternatives for improve skin health — the best pick depends on your goals. Take the 60-second quiz for a pick tailored to your goals.
Vitamin A wins 2 of 3 categories. Both are solid choices — the best pick depends on your specific goals.
Verdict
Mostly mechanism / observational
1 of 1 studies with measurable effects showed benefit.
Top outcomes
Verdict
Limited support
2 of 9 studies with measurable effects showed benefit.
Top outcomes
500-1500mg extract daily (standardized to guggulsterones) (a typical label dose, not the dose used in the cited trials, which used 2,160 to 6,000 mg a day)
With meals, Divided into 2-3 doses
Standardized extract (2.5-10% guggulsterones)
The appropriate advice depends on the form of vitamin A, the reason for use, age, pregnancy status and total intake from all products. SupStack has not established a self-directed dose for this held use.
With fat-containing meal, Any time of day
Mixed carotenoids or low-dose retinyl palmitate
and 2 more not shown
4-8 weeks
8-12 weeks
4-8 weeks
First few weeks
2-4 weeks
2-4 weeks
4-8 weeks
With chronic excess
Current stage of preclinical and clinical development of guggulsterone in cancers: Challenges and promises
Cell biology international (2024) · Review
The review synthesizes evidence from diverse studies, underscoring the multifaceted biological activities of GS in cancer prevention and treatment.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations for Hypercholesterolemia
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) (2021) · Meta analysis · n=1386
Meta-analysis of the trials showed that guggulu reduced total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein levels by 16.78 mg/dL (95% C.I. 13.96 to 2.61; p-value = 0.02) and 18.78 mg/dL (95% C.I. 34.07 to 3.48; p = 0.02), respectively.
Pharmacological properties of guggulsterones, the major active components of gum guggul
Phytotherapy research : PTR (2012) · Review
Its active constituents, the Z- and E-guggulsterones, have been demonstrated to exhibit their biological activities by binding to nuclear receptors and modulating the expression of proteins involved in carcinogenic activities.
Effects of primary or secondary prevention with vitamin A supplementation on clinically important outcomes: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis
BMJ open (2024) · Meta analysis · n=1671672
Vitamin A did not reduce mortality in individually randomised trials (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.05; I²=32%; p=0.19; 105 trials; moderate certainty), and this effect was not affected by the risk of bias.
Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation During Pregnancy on Maternal, Birth, Child Health and Development Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Nutrients (2020) · Meta analysis · n=451723
IFA supplementation showed notable improvement in maternal anemia and the reduction in low birthweight, whereas LNS supplementation had no apparent effect on outcomes; further research that compares LNS and MMN supplementation could help understand differences with these commodities.
Vitamin A supplements for reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission
The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (2017) · Meta analysis · n=7298
Five trials in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, none of whose participants received antiretroviral therapy. Four trials had 6995 women and one had 303.
Vitamin A has a higher evidence score (7/10 vs 4/10) and wins in 2 of 3 categories.
For improve skin health, Guggul has a higher relevance score (78 vs 68).
No documented interaction was found in the data searched. This does not establish that this exact combination is safe.
The right pick depends on your goals. Answer a few quick questions for a personalised recommendation — or dig into the full evidence on each.