Food Source Of Vitamin A

Vitamin A is fat soluble micronutrient. It requires fat as well as minerals in the digestive tract to be absorbed properly. Vitamin A can be stored in your body eliminating the need to be replenished on a daily basis. Care should be taken not to overindulge on Vitamin A as there are some toxic side effects.

Vitamin A prevents eye problems such as night blindness, as well as certain skin disorders such as acne. It is a great enhancer to the immune system protecting us against colds, flu, infections of the bladder, lungs, kidneys and the mucous membranes. Vitamin A helps to heal gastrointestinal ulcers and is one of main components for repair and maintenance of epithelial tissue.

Vitamin A is essential for cell growth and a potent Antioxidant protecting the cells from cancer and other Free Radical related diseases. It lowers the cholesterol levels and protects us from heart disease and stroke.

Protein can not be synthesized in our body without the aid of Vitamin A. As such it is important vitamin that slows the aging process. Applied topically it is a well-known wrinkle eliminator, helps fade age spots and reduces fine lines in the skin.

Lack of Vitamin A can cause dry skin and hair, dryness of the cornea and conjunctiva as well as night blindness and poor growth. Other common ailments caused by deficiency of this vitamin include fatigue, insomnia sinusitis, pneumonia, respiratory infections such as frequent colds, as well as number of skin disorders including acne.  Some reproductive problems are also directly tied to lack of Vitamin A.

Taking too much Vitamin A is not good either. Prolonged usage of over 100,000 International Units per day can be quite toxic to your body, predominantly the liver. Hypervitaminosis A reffers to overindulgence of vitamin A.  Common symptoms associated with too much of Vitamin A are abdominal pain, gastrointestinal disturbances, enlargement of liver and spleen, itching, joint pain, hair loss, nausea and vomiting.
There are two forms of Vitamin A.

Retinol is preformed Vitamin A found in foods of animal origin and Carotene which is provitamin A provided by foods of both plant and animal origin.

Sources Of Vitamin A

Predominant animal source of Vitamin A is milk, eggs, liver and fish liver oils. Herbs, fruits and vegetables that have significant amount of Vitamin A include alfalfa, burdock root, hops, kelp, peppermint, parsley, rosehip, watercress, sage, asparagus, apricots, broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, dandelion, garlic, mustard, kale, red peppers, pumpkin, peaches. Animal sources are as much as six times more potent as compared to Vitamin A derived from plants.

Laxatives, Antibiotics and some cholesterol lowering medicine hinder the absorption of Vitamin A.

Dosage of Vitamin A is measured in one of three units. USP is United States Pharmacopea, UI are the International Units and RE are the Retinol Equivalent.

Recommended daily dosage for adult male is 5,000 IU, which is equivalent to 1,000 RE and for adult female it’s 4,000 IU or equivalent to 800 RE. During pregnancy the need for Vitamin A is increased to 5,000 IU equivalent to 1,000 RE. For women that are nursing and additional 2,000 IU, 400 RE is recommended.