Firstly Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient that plays a vital role in your body. Secondly It exists naturally in the foods you eat and can also be consumed through supplements. Thirdly this article discusses Vitamin A Pills.
Though vitamin A is often considered a singular nutrient, it’s really the name for a group of fat-soluble compounds.
Generally there are two forms of vitamin A found in food.
Preformed vitamin A — retinol and retinyl esters — occurs exclusively in animal products, such as dairy, liver and fish, while provitamin A carotenoids are abundant in plant foods like fruits, vegetables and oils.
To use them, your body must convert both forms of vitamin A to retinal and retinoic acid, the active forms of the vitamin.
Because vitamin A is fat soluble, it’s stored in body tissue for later use. Similarly Most of the vitamin A in your body is kept in your liver in the form of retinyl esters .
Vitamin A is essential for your health.
Perhaps one of the best-known functions of vitamin A is its role in vision and eye health.
Additionally, vitamin A helps maintain surface tissues.
Vitamin A is an important nutrient that benefits health in many ways.
Vitamin A Pills Are Potent Antioxidants
Provitamin A carotenoids such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin are precursors of vitamin A and have antioxidant properties.
Essential for Eye Health and Prevents Macular Degeneration
As mentioned above, vitamin A is essential to vision and eye health.
Adequate dietary intake of vitamin A helps protect against certain eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Studies show that higher blood levels of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin may reduce your risk of AMD by up to 25% .
This risk reduction is linked to carotenoid nutrients’ protection of macular tissue.
May Protect Against Certain Cancers
Due to their antioxidant properties, carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables may protect against certain types of cancer.
For example, a study in over 10,000 adults determined that smokers with the highest blood levels of alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin had a 46% and 61% lower risk of dying from lung cancer .
What’s more, test-tube studies demonstrate that retinoids may inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells.
Vitamin A Pills Vital for Fertility and Fetal Development
Vitamin A is essential for both male and female reproduction because it plays a role in sperm and egg development.
It’s also critical for placental health.
Therefore, vitamin A is integral to maternal and fetal health and to those trying to conceive.
Vitamin A Pills Boosts Your Immune System
Vitamin A impacts immune health.
Though vitamin A deficiency is rare in developed countries .
There are many dietary sources of both preformed vitamin A and provitamin A carotenoids. Foods highest in preformed vitamin A are:
- Egg yolks
- Beef liver
- Liverwurst
- Butter
- Cod liver oil
- Chicken liver
- Salmon
- Cheddar cheese
- Liver sausage
- King mackerel
- Trout
Foods high in provitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene include :
- Sweet potatoes
- Pumpkin
- Carrots
- Kale
- Spinach
- Dandelion greens
- Cabbage
- Swiss chard
- Red peppers
- Collard greens
- Parsely
- Butternut squash
The most common side effects of chronic vitamin A toxicity include:
- Vision disturbances
- Joint and bone pain
- Poor appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sunlight sensitivity
- Hair loss
- Headache
- Dry skin
- Liver damage
- Jaundice
- Delayed growth
- Decreased appetite
- Confusion
- Itchy skin
