The human body requires Vitamin A, also called Retinol, to maintain healthy skin and good eyesight. First discovered in 1912 by a polish biochemist named Casimir Funk, he called it vitamine. He was the first to discover vitamins as we call them today and vitamin A was the first one discovered, hence the letter A in the title. Of course, healthy skin and good eyesight are just some of the health benefits of Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is found in natural foods like oranges, yellow fruits, vegetables, spinach, and fats. Vitamin A in vegetables is water soluble and comes in the form of Beta Carotene. Beta Carotene is used up in the body by natural processes. Every day the body requires Vitamin A to maintain healthy skin and good eyesight. Carrots provide a good source for vitamin A and prevents you from getting night blindness. Also known as an antioxidant, Vitamin A can also reduce the risk of cancer and helps the immune system. So, there are many health benefits of Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. For people who are on restricted diet or low fat, they may not be getting the right amount of vitamin A from the supplement that they take. To get maximum absorption of A vitamins in your diet, you will need to add a high level of protein to your diet. Protein combined with A vitamin make it stronger and helps it move through the body smoothly.
Daily consumption of Vitamin A should be around 900 mcg (micrograms) for men and 700 mcg for women. Here is a good overview from WebMD. The most important source of vitamin A is Beta Carotene as mentioned above and you can consume this in much larger doses no matter what your age may be.
Not having enough A vitamin in your daily diet can result in a deficiency, which may produce skin problems, increased infections and even night blindness. A prolonged deficiency in A vitamin can increase your risk of cancer. Vitamin A also has anti-ageing benefits.
As mentioned above, there are many foods that are high in Vitamin A. We mentioned some of the broad categories but foods like turkey and chicken liver have high concentrations of Vitamin as does sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and more. Here is a good list of 20 foods high in Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is an essential part of your daily diet. If you are taking supplements, make sure that they provide the right amounts with no side effects. A good multivitamin should contain a high amount of Vitamin A. That, combined with a healthy diet should get you what you need.
