Vitamin A supports eyesight. Therefore, if you suffer from vitamin A deficiency, you may experience visual disturbances. You may want to have your vitamin A values measured, especially if you have trouble seeing at night.
Mayo Clinic emphasizes that vitamin A is very important for vision, growth, cell division, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances that can protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Mayo Clinic officials explain that free radicals may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY?
- visual disturbances
- Drying of hair
- dry mouth
- Redness of the skin, itching
- Breaking nails
- Diarrhea
- bladder infections
- vaginal infections
- Upper/lower respiratory tract infections
Serious problems can develop if the vitamin A deficiency is severe or is allowed to progress. The most serious problem is permanent blindness.
FOODS CONTAINING VITAMIN A
Preformed Vitamin A comes from animal foods such as trout, feta, liver, king mackerel, cod liver oil, salmon, chicken liver, butter, egg yolk, fatty milk, cheese, cream, kidney, halibut, and fish oil.
Provitamin A is abundant in yellow fruits such as pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens, red peppers, cabbage, parsley, chard, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, oranges, and dark green leafy vegetables.
The darker the vegetable or fruit, the more beta-carotene it contains. Vegetable sources of beta-carotene are free of fat and cholesterol. If these sources are eaten together with fat, the absorption of vitamin A obtained from them increases.
The best way to get the body’s daily requirement for other important vitamins, including vitamin A, is to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, fortified dairy products, legumes such as dried beans, lentils and whole grains.