What does vitamin A do for the body or what is it responsible for? Great question. Vitamin A helps you to maintain healthy skin, strong eyesight, and strengthen your immune system—among other things. Vitamin A is known to possess antioxidant effects. Antioxidants are substances which prevent or slow down damage caused by "by-products" of "oxygen use" by body cells. They are known for cancer prevention and anti-aging.
Where can you find vitamin A? Natural foods such as oranges and yellow fruits are known to contain substantial doses of vitamin A. Vitamin A has also been found to be largely available in vegetables such as Spinach, and fats. The vitamin in the vegetables is water soluble. What that means is that it is not stored in the body and must be replaced each day. Because vitamin A in vegetables comes in the form of beta carotene, it is an excellent way for your body to get it.
It has been proven that, in most diets, the majority of vitamin A needed for your survival comes from fat in the food you consume. People on low fat or restricted diet may not be getting an adequate amount of vitamin A needed for their bodies to function properly. Persons suffering from vitamin A deficiency are also advised to consume a high level of protein as protein helps your body absorb vitamin A, combines with vitamin A to make it stronger, and help it move through your body.
So what's your recommended daily intake of vitamin A? To keep your body in optimum health, consuming around 5,000 international units (IU) of vitamin A daily is recommended. To put things into perspective, one medium orange gives you approximately 269 IU of vitamin A. A medium avocado contains approximately 1230 IU of vitamin A. A medium sized banana contains approximately 95 IU of vitamin A. A slice of cantaloupe contains approximately 2225 IU of vitamin A. A medium sized mango with the peel removed gives you approximately 8060 IU of vitamin A. A medium peach contains 524 IU of vitamin A. Your recommended daily intake of vitamin A may vary depending on age and health.
So what happens if you don't get an adequate daily intake of vitamin A? The symptoms of vitamin A deficiency, like any other nutritional deficiency, are wide and varied, and often painful. People with vitamin A deficiency may have skin problems, increased infections, night blindness and accelerated aging processes. As recovering from a vitamin A deficiency is difficult and complicated, you're advised to always stay up to date with your vitamins intake.
On the other hand, some symptoms of an overdose of vitamin A are pain in the joints, abdomen and bones. However, these symptoms are rare and you should always strive to get an adequate vitamin intake. If your lifestyle is one that inhibits your ability to indulge in vitamin enriched or natural foods, you may want to consider vitamin supplements—the ones with no side effects.
Although there have been close to 600 types of Carotenes that have been identified, research has found that at least 30-50 of them have been found to involve Vitamin A activity and hence they share a direct positive relationship with Vitamin A.
Carotenes are naturally-occurring, brightly colored plant pigments that are vital to the process of photosynthesis. They are also what help protect plants as well as the body against the potentially damaging effects of free radicals.
The ability of the free radicals to oxidize cells gets eliminated by antioxidants which are found mainly in milk, fruits and vegetables. Once the cells in the body get oxidized it can lead to fatal health complications that include heart diseases, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts and arthritis among others.
Consumption of adequate levels of Vitamin A can help delay the signs of aging. It has the ability to ward of wrinkles and so has been rightly labeled the 'Anti-aging' Vitamin.
It also helps enhance the body's immune system which in turn keeps the mucous membranes inside the throat, lungs, eyes, mouth, digestive tract, kidneys, bladder and reproductive system healthy. Vitamin A has also been known to lower cholesterol levels and assists in hormone production.
Vitamin A also helps in the production of Ribonucleic Acid(RNA). When RNA reproduces in large amounts it assists in the creation of new cells so that the old and worn out cells can be efficiently replaced.
Fish liver oil is one of the most commonly found natural sources of Vitamin A. Cod and halibut have the highest concentration of this vitamin. Other sources include eggs, milk and fruits such as nectarines, cantaloupes, apricots, mandarin oranges, plums watermelons and mangoes.
Among vegetables the dark green and brightly colored ones like kale, collard greens, escarole, chicory, endive, romaine lettuce, broccoli, peas, carrots, red pepper, pumpkin, squash, turnips, sweet potato and tomatoes are all excellent sources of Vitamin A.
The ideal amounts of vitamin A people should have is between 500 to 800 micrograms daily. The recommended amounts are 600 micrograms for males, 500 micrograms for females . However during pregnancy women need to consume around 800 micrograms a day and roughly around 850 micrograms while breast feeding.
Vitamin A deficiencies :
Deficiency of Vitamin A affects ones vision, in particular the ability to see clearly at night or in dim light. Night blindness and dry eyes are typical symptoms of this deficiency. In addition to vision problems it can also lead to skin problems like acne and psoriasis.
A poor diet is usually the cause of Vitamin A deficiency. Particularly vulnerable are the elderly and those living in parts of the world where poor diets prevail.
Both Patrick Carpen & Mike Singh are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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