Vitamin A

Posted by ecostinger on 1st Nov 2014

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that we can find in many foods. It is important for the immune system, vision, reproduction, production of spermatozoa (male reproductive cells, growth and bone development also studies shows that it helps the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs work properly, it is essential for our health. Vitamin A also functions in a very different role as retinoic acid (an irreversibly oxidized form of retinol), which is an important hormone-like growth factor for epithelial and other cells. As an antioxidant vitamin A helps skin to repair, stay moist, and produce the enzymes that stabilize the production of collagen and it is often added to skin creams. Vitamin A works like antioxidants it destroy free radicals and help us stay younger.

Vitamin A is a large group of related nutrients and each of these nutrients provides health benefits in different way. Always check with your dr. especially pregnant women because it might affect the development of the baby.

Most foods especially all orange fruits, cod liver oil, Liver (turkey, beef, pork, fish, chicken) , Dandelion greens, Sweet potato, carrot, Broccoli (leaf, florets), Butter , Kale, Spinach, Pumpkin, Collard greens, Cheddar, cheese, Cantaloupe melon, Egg, Apricot, Papaya , Mango , Pea , Milk Tomatoes, Seaweed, contains natural vitamin A or the beta-carotene that becomes Vitamin A inside the body.

Advantages and disadvantages of vitamin A:

Vitamin A is essential for health but excess storage of vitamin A may have disadvantages on our health and body.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness among children. Many children suffering from “hidden Hunger” . As mentioned in Vitamin Angels “In 2014, we are addressing the global need for vitamin A by targeting nearly 40 million children with high dose vitamin A supplementation”

Advantages	Disadvantages
	Low Vitamin A	Too much Vitamin A Hypervitaminosis A
Better vision/eyesight especially for avoiding night blindness	Night blindness	Headache
Better gene transcription	Thickening of the corneas	Nausea
For treatment of dermatological diseases	Spots on the corneas	Vomiting
smooth and healthy looking skin	Hazy corneas	Birth defects in a fetus
Helps build resistance to colds	Blindness	Liver problems
Provides resistance to infections by keeping moist the mucous membranes that line your mouth, respiratory passage, and urinary tract	Scaly skin	Brittle bones (after years of chronic toxicity)
increases our body’s immunity, thereby, helps body safeguard against cancer	Thickening of the skin	Brittle hair and nails
Helps the body counter damaging effects of stress	50% mortality rate in children when severe deficiency occurs	Dry hair
Aids in wound healing	Reduced immunity	Peeling skin
Necessary for the normal functioning of the middle ear	Growth retardation in the young	Rash
Protects bowel and is useful in treating Crohn’s disease	Inability to fight infection in the young	Drowsiness
Protects the lungs	Respiratory tract infections	Dry eyes
Helps build healthy teeth		General stomach pain
slow down collagen breakdown		Blurred vision
		Bone pain
		Decreased appetite
		Increased intracranial pressure

All vitamins are essential to our health but avoid taking high doses or exceeding the recommended daily allowance (RDA) which may cause health problems. As excess vitamin A is stored in liver it can lead to liver problem.

According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, "RDAs are set to meet the needs of almost all (97 to 98%) individuals in a group

Life stage group	RDA Adequate intakes (AI*) μg/day	Upper limit μg/day
Infants 0–6 months 7–12 months	400 500	600 600
Children 1–3 years 4–8 years	300 400	600 900
Males 9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years	600 900 900	1700 2800 3000
Females 9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years	600 700 700	1700 2800 3000

Vitamin A in sunscreens :

Vitamin A is an antioxidant added to skin products because manufacturers believe it slows skin aging but it is preferable to be used indoors or in night creams. A study by U.S. government scientists suggests that retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight (NTP 2012).

Sun Protection Tips:
Always wear sun protective clothing when outdoor, including wide brim sun hat or legionnaire cap for neck protection, also sunsglasses and use sunscreens on exposed skin. When on the beach it is essential to use UV protection swimwear specially for kids, protecting the skin from an early age will help in avoiding skin damage and skin cancer in later years.