Aside from improving and maintaining your eyes, vitamin A also brings a lot of health benefits, involving many other important parts of the body. In an article in Life Force Homeopathy, vitamin A has been named as the “angel vitamin” because it can keep you looking and feeling young.
Vitamin A is actually a group of antioxidant compounds that play a significant role in vision. This underrated nutrient spurts the growth of new skin cells and repairs any injuries. It works together with calcium and vitamin D to form bones and teeth, and it also helps keep those organs and structures strong.
Moreover, this vitamin also supports the immune system by reducing the probabilities of irritation that can damage cells and tissues; and it slows the aging process, letting you retain your youthful looks longer. Many diseases, as well as disorders, may also be cured through vitamin A intake.
Where Can You Get The Vitamin A You Need?
Vitamin refers to a number of retinoids that can be dissolved in fat, such as beta-carotene, retinal, retinol, and their namesake retinoids. They are used in the production of the enzymes involved in the growth and development of living things.
According to its food source, vitamin A takes different previtamin forms. In animal foods, it is available as the aforementioned retinoids. Good sources of this previtamin form include chicken, cheese, egg yolks, meat, fish, and liver. While in plants, it is present as carotenoids; it is especially plentiful in green leafy vegetables, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, carrots, and fruits that are orange, yellow, or green in color.
You Might Need More Vitamin A In Your Diet
People that are vitamin A deficient need to consume foods rich in the micronutrient on a regular basis.
Normally-born infants and young children, living in developing countries with food supply issues, are also vulnerable. And if their mothers are also poor in the nutrient, this drives double for them.
Preterm babies have immature livers wherein they can’t store much in the way of vitamin A. That’s why; a steady supply of this vitamin is needed by them until such time that they are finished growing.
Pregnant as well as breastfeeding mothers also need greater amounts of vitamin A since they are providing for themselves and their still-developing babies.
Even pure vegetarians are also at risk of deficiency. They are dropping out on bio-available vitamin A found in animal foods since they are refraining themselves from fish and dairy products.
If you are one of those people who is suffering from diseases that hamper the proper assimilation of fat, you will not get the fat-soluble vitamin A. This includes patients with bowel disorders like Crohn’s disease and Coeliac disease as well as alcoholics, who often have liver problems like cirrhosis.