Vitamin A (carotenoids, beta carotene and retinol) is a fat-soluble vitamin that is one of the identified 13 essential vitamins we need to maintain optimal health. We're not able to manufacture this vitamin ourselves and so need to get it from nutritious food sources, in the right dosage. Vitamin A has a role in numerous functions in many parts in the body––it helps maintain healthy skin, ensures better night vision, strong teeth and bone formation and keeps tissue and mucus membranes working properly (to prevent infections). It is also needed for reproduction and breastfeeding. Vitamin A has a role in maintaining healthy epithelial cells, which helps with digestive, urinary and respiratory functions. Being fat-soluble, it is important to not overdo the amount of vitamin A we ingest, as excess vitamin A stockpiles in the body; however, it is important to note that excess intake is rare.]Moreover, vitamin A is an antioxidant, a term that describes chemicals that help reduce your risk of getting cancer, especially those associated with epithelial cells such as skin, lung, stomach, mouth, pancreas, cervix, etc.).Without enough vitamin A in your diet, you are more likely to develop vision problems and even infectious diseases. This deficiency is estimated to affected approximately one third of children under the age of five worldwide, causing visual impairment, blindness and increasing susceptibility to childhood diseases such as measles and the World Health Organization (WHO) has a clear goal of eliminating this micronutrient deficiency.
Vitamin is found in plenty of healthy foods. If you're not sure how to improve the natural sources of vitamin A in your diet, now is a good time to brush up your knowledge.
Vitamin is found in plenty of healthy foods. If you're not sure how to improve the natural sources of vitamin A in your diet, now is a good time to brush up your knowledge.
Steps
The basics of vitamin A nutrition
- Learn a little about the background of how vitamin A is sourced. Vitamin A is found in two forms, namely retinol (foods of animal origin) and beta carotene (foods of plant origin). The beta carotene version is thought to be slightly more nutritious than the retinol form, as it has the antioxidant properties and can help lower harmful cholesterol levels, although the bioavailability has been questioned in more recent studies.
An important distinction is that beta carotene is only converted into vitamin A in your body when you need it, meaning that it cannot be a source of vitamin A toxicity (although eating lots of orange plant foods can tint your skin slightly orange). On the other hand, natural retinol sources and synthetic forms of vitamin A can become toxic if too much is consumed. - Note the daily limits of natural retinol ester forms or vitamin A (and synthetic forms of vitamin A). How much vitamin A you need or should not exceed is measured in units called IU, or International Units or in micrograms (which are abbreviated as "μg" (mcg))––1 IU is the biological equivalent of 0.3 μg retinol, or of 0.6 μg beta-carotene.For children, consuming more than 10,000 IU daily for a few months can be toxic to the body. For adults, over 25,000 IU's for the same amount of time can be harmful as well.Depending on your age and gender, you'll need different amounts of Vitamin A, as follows:
| Life stage group | RDA Adequate intakes (AI*) μg/day | Upper limit μg/day |
|---|---|---|
| Infants0–6 months 7–12 months | 400* 500* | 600 600 |
| Children1–3 years 4–8 years | 300 400 | 600 900 |
| Males9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years | 600 900 900 | 1700 2800 3000 |
| Females9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years | 600 700 700 | 1700 2800 3000 |
| Pregnancy<19 years 19 – >50 years | 750 770 | 2800 3000 |
| Lactation<19 years 19 – >50 years | 1200 1300 | 2800 3000 |
Getting sufficient vitamin A in your diet
- Start young. If you're pregnant or planning to breastfeed, get all the support needed to help you continue breastfeeding effectively during the early months of your child's life. Breast milk is a natural source of vitamin A and a very important means for ensuring a baby's vitamin A levels are sufficient.
- See warnings below––pregnant women should not take synthetic vitamin A supplements, as this can lead to fetal damage.
- Eat a variety of vegetables. Vegetables are an important source of vitamin A, and the fresher the better. Most orange-yellow-red vegetables contain vitamin A, such as squash, red peppers and pumpkin. As well, dark green veggies and lettuce are sources of vitamin A. Here are just a few good reasons to include more veggies in your diet as vitamin A boosting sources:
- Dark, leafy greens – kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens are all rich in vitamin A, as well as calcium. Kale, with the most vitamin A, provides 15,376 IU in 100 grams and 10,302 per cup. Celery and peas also contain vitamin A.
- Carrots – A great source of vitamin A, especially when raw. 16,706 IU is in 100 grams of carrots, and 2,069 IU of vitamin A for a single baby carrot. If you eat grated carrot with some chopped tomatoes and sprinkled with safflower oil, you'll get a full benefit of vitamin A because having a little fat present increases the bioavailability of the vitamin.
- Sweet potatoes – because of their orange color, They have 19,218 IU of vitamin A in 100 grams, and 21,909 IU in a medium sweet potato.
- Nori – an ounce of nori will provide you with 1,500 IU of vitamin A, around 3- percent of the daily value. Nori is also known as laver; it's a sea vegetable sold in dried sheets and often used wrapped around sushi, in Asian soups or to bring out the flavor of pasta and salads.
- Eat orange, red and yellow hued fruit. Orange, red and yellow colored fruits are rich in vitamin A, like mangoes, grapefruit, cantaloupe, peaches, apricots, and papayas. These orange fruits range from 1,000 to 2,000 IU in vitamin A quantities, for example, tangerines contain 1,037 IU or around 20 percent of daily needs.Eat one piece of such fruit a day to get some vitamin A. You can have a fruit salad with all your favorite fruits from this list, eat one whole, or snack on melon balls. Orange, fruits are not only a great source of Vitamin A, but they're also a delicious snack!
- Add animal food sources to your diet. Foods of animal origin provide the "retinol" form of vitamin A. This is the form that can be overdosed on, so sourcing vitamin A from such foods needs to be done with care. For example, turkey liver, with the most vitamin A, has a whopping 75,333 IU in 100 grams! Since an adult should never consume more than 25,000 IU of vitamin A daily, such rich food sources of vitamin A need to be reduced to fit with daily requirements. Plenty of other animal liver has vitamin A, too and one single tablespoon of pâté provides 429 IU of vitamin A.
- Other animal food sources of vitamin A include fish, eggs, milk, butter, cheese and margarine (the latter not always animal sourced but often vitamin fortified).
- Take Vitamin A supplements but only if it has been medically established that you need to. Remembering that the body always absorbs vitamins most effectively through food sources,sometimes there may be a need to have vitamin A fortified food or vitamin A supplements to improve a diagnosed vitamin A deficiency. Don't self diagnose and don't take vitamin A supplements without medical advice, as the risk of over-dosing can create more complications. Consult your doctor first and follow his or her recommendation for the dosage of supplemental vitamin A and even the source (brand) that you would be best using.
- Symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (rare) can include: dryness of conjunctiva and cornea, frequent colds, insomnia, night blindness, reproductive difficulties and respiratory infections.
- Symptoms of vitamin A overdosing (hypervitaminosis A) can include: abdominal pain, dry skin, itching, enlarged liver or spleen, amenorrhea, hair loss, headaches, joint pain, nausea, vision problems and vomiting.
Tips
- Generally, the richer the color of the plant food, the more vitamin A it is likely to contain.
- Here are some more food ideas for getting more vitamin A into your diet:
- Fruit salad for breakfast or dessert is a healthy and yummy way to start the day with Vitamin A! Enjoy all your favorite orange fruits.
- If you don't like liver, have some fish instead. You can prepare steamed liver with onions or herbs if you'd still like to have a little liver but improve the taste.
- Eggs are a great breakfast choice, filled with Vitamin A.
- Milk has vitamin A as well as calcium.
- If you do consume too much beta-carotene that your skin tints orange, leave off those veggies for a few days to return back to normal.
- The reason that the liver is such a potent (and potentially toxic) source of vitamin A is its ability to store enough vitamin A to last the owner 10 months!
- Did you know? Some animal livers are extraordinarily high in amounts of vitamin A and Antarctic explorers Mawson and Mertz were poisoned in 1913 as a result of trying to survive from eating the livers of their sled dogs (Mertz died).
Warnings
- If you are taking a vitamin supplement, read the label. Make sure that it doesn't go over 10,000 IU's, which, luckily, is unlikely. But, better safe than sorry.
- Never change your diet without checking with your doctor first. They'll tell you what vitamins you need, if any.
- Too much Vitamin A can cause loss of appetite, dizziness, headaches, dry and itchy skin, hair loss, blurred vision and reduced bone mineral density. In severe cases, liver damage can occur with Vitamin A overdose. In the case of a fetus, too much vitamin A can cause severe birth defects; pregnant women should not exceed 5,000 IU daily of supplemental vitamin A. In fact, it is simply best if pregnant women do not ever use supplemental sources of vitamin A as birth defects caused by vitamin A are a real risk.
- Cod liver oil should not be taken daily because of its extreme amount of Vitamin A, some kinds providing about 13,000 IU of Vitamin A.
