Vitamin A refers to a group of fat-soluble compounds including retinal, retinoic acid and several provitamin carotenoids such as beta-carotene. Vitamin A supports vision health as well as immune system functioning while having antioxidant properties.
Care products containing vitamin A help minimize post-blemish discoloration and treat acne by stimulating cell turnover, decreasing oil production and decreasing inflammation.
Eye Health
Vitamin A, more commonly known by its acronym retinol, plays an integral part in maintaining and developing healthy teeth and skeletal tissue, mucus membranes and skin. Retinol also supports eye health – particularly low light conditions – by being combined with proteins to form rhodopsin that absorbs light so we can see. A deficiency can lead to night blindness, dry eyes and other eye problems; depleting it could potentially result in night blindness.
Diet is the ideal source of Vitamin A. Your body can get preformed retinol from animal products such as liver, whole milk and eggs as well as certain vegetables called provitamin A carotenoids; beta-carotene from dark leafy greens, carrots and sweet potatoes is especially valuable to its production.
Eatintg a diet rich in vitamin A helps to decrease the risk of eye issues like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, as well as decreasing diabetic retinopathy-associated vision loss. Furthermore, research suggests beta-carotene-rich foods could act as antioxidants against cancer prevention. But excessive supplement intake may be harmful.
Skin Health
Studies show that vitamin A plays an essential role in maintaining skin health, helping it glow vibrantly while also aiding absorption of other essential nutrients. People suffering from chronically dry, flaky skin may need to increase their intake of vitamin A; studies also demonstrate its effect in helping clear up acne outbreaks faster.
Vitamin A is vital to eye health. Its presence aids rhodopsin’s function of turning light that hits your retina into electrical signals for transmission to the brain, while also keeping corneas moist and healthy while aiding motion detection. One of the hallmarks of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness; usually correcting it requires increasing your intake.
Your body can obtain vitamin A through two main sources – preformed forms (retinol and retinyl esters) as well as provitamin A carotenoids such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin). Provitamins are converted in your liver into active vitamin A by enzymes and then carried through your bloodstream to tissues where they can exert their full impact. Vitamin A contains a molecular structure consisting of a b-ionone ring with a methyl substituted unsaturated side chain and an alcohol group. Classified into generations according to how they modify the b-ionone ring, retinal and retinoic acid are first generation compounds; second-generation compounds include acitretin and bexarotene; while third and fourth generation synthetic compounds like isotretinoin and trifalexanthin belong to third and fourth generations respectively.
Immune Function
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin with biologically active metabolites (retinol, retinal and retinoic acid) that play crucial roles in embryonic development, vision maintenance, growth, epithelial and mucosal tissue integrity and differentiation, as well as cell differentiation. Since humans cannot synthesize vitamin A independently, dietary intake must provide necessary Vitamin A levels. Humans cannot produce de novo vitamin A; hence absorption occurs via two pathways: animal sources such as meat and dairy products provide precursors while plant foods rich in provitamin A carotenoids include orange or dark green vegetables which include beta-carotene. Once vitamin A has been taken in, its biologically active forms will begin being produced and utilized by our bodies cellular differentiation systems allowing cells to differentiate into their respective species allowing differentiation processes in other cells in our bodies resulting in various organ systems including organ systems such as muscle.
Vitamin A deficiency typically presents itself in poor night vision (nyctalopia), leading to irreversible blindness in children. Vitamin A also plays an integral part in immune function – it supports both adaptive and innate immunity responses as well as intestinal epithelial cell regeneration and growth, protecting phagocytic cells that act as the first line of defense against pathogens entering the intestine, as well as providing essential protection.
As with other vitamins, too much vitamin A can be harmful. Hypervitaminosis A – most often seen among infants and young children who consume too much preformed vitamin A from supplements or certain medications – may lead to severe headaches, blurred vision, nausea, dizziness, aches fatigue and abnormal liver tests.
Bone Health
Vitamin A is essential to the development and maintenance of healthy teeth, bone structure, soft tissues, mucus membranes and skin; pregnancy and breastfeeding; as well as being one of the leading preventable causes of blindness among children (xerophthalmia). Unfortunately deficiency of Vitamin A is common in developing countries; vitamin A deficiency being the leading preventable cause.
Oily fish is one of the primary sources of vitamin A in our diets; 3-ounce serving of cooked sockeye salmon provides about 7% of your recommended daily amount. Liver products, such as beef liver pate and cod liver oil are also excellent sources. Other high-vitamin A foods include leafy green vegetables, orange/yellow fruits/vegetable oils.
Preformed vitamin A (retinol) can be found in animal products like liver, fish and dairy; fortified foods; as well as certain provitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene which the body can convert into vitamin A are also abundant, found in vibrant vegetables like leafy greens, squash and pumpkin, orange and yellow fruits, as well as some vegetable oils.
Vitamin A can only be absorbed by our bodies in small doses, so eating foods rich in this nutrient is crucial for optimal absorption. Too much vitamin A can be toxic; therefore it is wise to monitor dietary intake of this nutrient so as not to exceed recommended daily allowance.
