What Does Vitamin A Do In The Body?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. It covers several other fat-soluble compounds such as retinol, retinal and retinoic acid. Collectively these compounds are known as retinoids. However the most abundant component of the term vitamin A is retinol.
Food sources containing vitamin A are mainly meat products such as egg yolk, liver, fish and dairy produce.
Other sources of vitamins A are plant matter that contains a yellow- orange pigment. This pigment is synthesised by the plant and known as Carotenoids. Examples of these foods sources include carrots, mangoes, avocados and apricots. To break it down even further a precursor to Carotenoids is beta-carotene. This is plentiful in carrots and squash and other vegetables and fruits that contain a yellow or red pigment. Interestingly, green leafy vegetables contain a yellow pigment but the chlorophyll masks it.
The main use of vitamin A in the body is to ensure good vision especially at night. This has been known for years. Even back as far as Egyptian times, they knew that eating liver, which is rich in vitamin A, could help treat night blindness. However, more recent studies have discovered that vitamin A plays a key role in the interaction with genes to regulate growth and cell differentiation.
Other uses of vitamin A include treatment of ulcers, antioxidant properties and improved immune function. Although more research has to be carried out vitamin A may also help in helping gynaecological conditions and reduce the instance of respiratory distress syndrome to a baby during pregnancy, by administering it to the mother.
Deficiency of Vitamin A is not uncommon in poor, poverty stricken areas where the consumption of fat and protein is little. Deficiency signs include poor vision and dry eyes, dry skin and poor resistance to infection.
An overdose of Vitamin is possible but rare. Potentially it is toxic and 100 times the RDA can result in Coma and death. The RDA of vitamin A is about 800 –1200 mcg or 30,000 IU’s.