Health and Fitness

Vitamin A What it does and why you need it

‘Vitamin A’ covers both a pre-formed vitamin, Retinol and a pro-vitamin, Beta-Carotene. Some amounts of beta-carotene transform into Retinol by GI enzymatic action. Retinol is converted to some pigments in our retinal tissue. These pigments are absolutely essential for our vision in dim light. Vitamin A is also essential to maintain the integrity of the glandular and the epithelial tissues present in every organ in our body. It also helps in the skeletal growth and boosts the immune system.

Daily requirement of Vitamin A –

Sources of Vitamin A: -

Foods of Animal Origin – eggs, liver, whole milk, butter, cheese. Fish Liver oils such as Cod liver oil and Halibut liver oils are the richest sources of Vitamin A, but generally they are used as food supplements.

Foods of Plant origin: -

Green leafy vegetables like spinach, amaranth. All the yellow vegetables like carrot, pumpkin, tomatoes, and papaya contain a great amount of Vitamin A in the form of Beta-carotene.

Fortified foods: -

Some commercially available foods like baby foods, milks and margarines are fortified with Vitamin A.

Effects of Vitamin A deficiency: - 

These are primarily seen in our eyes. The effect can be as low as nightblindness up to extremely detrimental condition like Keratomalacia where the eyes become rotten. Among the extra-ocular manifestations, these are anorexia, growth retardation and follicular hyperkeratosis.

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Tags: Beta-carotene, Daily requirement of Vitamin A, foods containing vitamin a, nightblindness, Retinol, Sources of Vitamin A, vision, Vitamin A, what vitamin A does