Vitamin A Health Benefits

Whilst all vitamins are essential for good health, Retinol, also known as vitamin A, is one of the most important because it plays so many roles within the body.

In this article, we will look at some of the health benefits associated with vitamin A and see why you should be including it in your diet.

What Does Vitamin A Do?

Vitamin A helps to boost the body’s natural defense mechanisms against viruses and bacteria by making it better able to deal with and fight back against pathogens that could cause illness or disease.

In fact, there does seem to be a correlation between a persons susceptibility to infection and the levels of vitamin A that they have in their blood, as in general, the higher your blood vitamin A levels are the less likely you are to suffer from a bacterial or viral illness.

This is definitely something worth keeping in mind during the winter months when people tend to get a cold or the flu. The simple fact that you are around other people will make it virtually impossible for you not to become infected, but if you are consuming plenty of vitamin A in your diet, then your risk of suffering from the cold or the flu will be dramatically reduced because your immune system will be strong enough to cope with it.

If you do still get a cold or a flu, then you are likely to recover much faster and your symptoms won’t be as bad.

In addition to strengthening your immune system, vitamin A also helps to protect against viruses and bacteria by keeping the mucous membranes of your mouth, nose, throat and lungs moist so that airborne pathogens can be trapped in the secreted mucus layer and later destroyed.

Respiratory Benefits

Due to its effects on mucosal membranes, vitamin A can be very useful for treating respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis as it can help to repair mucosal membranes which have been damaged.

Some studies have also shown that vitamin A can be very beneficial for smokers and ex-smokers, as high levels of vitamin A can help to clear out the lungs and reverse the damage caused by years of smoking. Smokers who consume high levels of vitamin A also tend to have a lower risk of developing emphysema.

It should be noted however, that beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, has been linked to an increased risk of developing lung cancer in smokers when taken in supplement form. So if you do smoke cigarettes, it is probably best to avoid beta-carotene supplements and increase your intake from food instead.

Eye Health

If you ask someone what nutrients should be taken to improve eyesight, they will probably tell you to eat lots of carrots because carrots are rich in beta-carotene which the body can then convert to vitamin A. However, this is only partly true.

The idea that carrots are good for your eyesight was actually started during the second world war by the British to conceal radar, a new technology at the time, from the Nazis.

Eating carrots does not improve your eyesight directly, although the beta-carotene that they contain is still very beneficial for promoting general eye health which can have an indirect effect on how well you are able to see.

But with that said, vitamin A is still very important for eyesight as it is needed for night vision, light/dark adaptation, color perception and the prevention of cataracts. A deficiency can cause night blindness, although this only tends to occur in third world countries where vitamin A is consumed in very low amounts or is absent from a person’s diet altogether.

To help combat night blindness in third world countries where there is a deficiency of vitamin A, one of the first genetically modified crops to be produced was a type of rice called “golden rice” that was specifically developed to be rich in beta-carotene.

Teeth & Bones

Vitamin A plays a role in bone development and was recommended by Weston Price, in the form of cod liver oil and butter, for the prevention and reversal of tooth cavities.

Retinoic acid, a breakdown product of vitamin A in the body, is necessary for the formation of dentin which help to support tooth enamel and give teeth hardness.

However, some studies have shown that women taking high doses of retinol for a prolonged period of time may be at risk of developing hip fractures, although lower doses do seem to be beneficial for reducing ones risk of osteoporosis.

So if you are taking high doses of retinol for a specific reason, you may want to reduce your dosage once you have gained the benefits that you were hoping for. It should be noted though, that this largely applies to vitamin supplementation, so you don’t really need to worry if you are eating a normal healthy and balanced diet.

Healthy Skin

Vitamin A is also known to have beneficial effects on the skin. It can for example, help to promote healthy skin that has elasticity and moisture, whereas a lack of it in your diet can cause the skin to become overly dry and may even lead to psoriasis.

Derivatives of vitamin A, such as Isotretinoin, can be taken internally to benefit skin conditions such as acne. However, Isotretinoin can have unpleasant side effects, so it is usually not considered as a first line treatment and normally only administered for severe types of acne such as cystic acne.

When taken externally in the form of Retinol, such as in lotions or face creams, it can help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Retinol can even be used as a skin lightening agent to brighten up hyper-pigmented skin, and there are also reports of topical retinol treatments being used to promote hair regrowth. But if hair regrowth is your aim, then be warned that too much vitamin A taken internally may increase hair loss.

One disadvantage of using retinoid based skin care treatments is that retinol treated skin will suffer from increased sun sensitivity, and therefore will be much more vulnerable to being burnt or damaged by the sun. As a result, the use of sunscreen is recommended if you are using vitamin A based skin care products.

Other Benefits

Other benefits of vitamin A include helping to promote fertility and benefiting the reproductive system, helping to protect against degenerative diseases by acting as an antioxidant and helping to prevent the formation of kidney stones.

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How Much Vitamin A Do You Need?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin A is 1500-6000 I.U, although some would argue that if you are trying to treat a specific condition, such as a respiratory disorder, that this requirement should be increased to 100,000 I.U in a food based form such as liver.

If you do increase your dosage, you must be careful how long you take vitamin A at a high dosage for. Unlike some vitamins, such as vitamin C which is water soluble and can be excreted from the body when taken in excess, vitamin A is fat soluble which means that it can be stored within the fat of your body. It is for this reason that taking high doses of vitamin A may lead to toxicity as a result of an overdose, something known as Hypervitaminosis A.

Common overdose symptoms include headaches, nausea, fatigue, peeling/itchy skin and hair loss.

Generally, one cannot overdose on beta-carotene, although an interesting side effect of ingesting too much beta-carotene is skin that appears to have an orange tint to it.

Where Can You Get It?

The body can get vitamin A directly from the foods that you eat, or indirectly by converting beta-carotene into vitamin A.

Foods that contain beta-carotene usually have a yellow, orange or green color to them such as carrots, apricots, sweet potatoes and dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach or kale.

As vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, any food that contains fats or oils may also contain vitamin A. A good example is cod liver oil, which is a very rich natural source of vitamin A.

If you are on a low fat diet, you may be at risk of becoming deficient in vitamin A as the presence of fats and oils helps the body to better absorb vitamin A.

Know What You Are Getting

It is important to note that vitamin A can come in the form of retinol or indirectly via beta-carotene.

Retinol containing foods include dairy products such as eggs, cheese, milk and butter. Certain meats such as liver, are also very rich in retinol.

In contrast, beta-carotene containing foods are either plant based or oil based.

The reason it is important to understand these differences is because if you are solely relying upon beta-carotene for vitamin A, such as because you are a vegetarian, then you might not be getting as much vitamin A as you think you are because some people are unable to convert beta-carotene into vitamin A.

So if you are a vegetarian, the best form of vitamin A for you to take would be cod liver oil. Cod liver oil used to be given regularly to children but is no longer done so, despite it being one of the healthiest ways to ensure adequate vitamin A levels in the body and promote overall good health.

If you do take cod liver oil on a regular or daily basis, be sure to choose a cod liver oil that is free from contaminants commonly found in fish such as mercury or other toxic heavy metals. Ideally, you should be looking for something that is sourced from unpolluted waters and has gone through some kind of filtration process.

It is also important to look for pure cod liver oil rather than cod liver oil which has had retinyl palmitate added to it during the production process. The absence of flavorings is also beneficial, as some flavorings may cause health problems of their own within the body.

Who Needs Vitamin Supplements?

People with skin problems such as acne, eczema, scarring, dry skin, burns and people who are taking cholesterol lowering drugs or are on a low fat diet would benefit from taking vitamin supplements.

Signs Of Deficiency

Some of the signs of vitamin A deficiency include:

• Night blindness
• Scaly skin
• Infections
• Inflamed mucous membranes
• Respiratory problems

People most at risk of suffering from vitamin A deficiency are vegans, vegetarians and people who do not eat a balanced diet.

Best Food Sources

Some of the best food sources for vitamin A and beta-carotene are:

• Liver
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Butter
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Dried Apricots

Overall, as long as you live a fairly healthy lifestyle and eat a wide variety of foods, such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates, your risk of suffering from a deficiency will be very low. Your risk of an overdose will also be very low, and so this shouldn’t really be a concern unless you are taking supplements or are eating large amounts of liver.

Finally, since you can store vitamin A in your body, you don’t need to be eating large amounts of it everyday. So you may want to alternate weeks where you eat different types of foods that are rich in other nutrients, and possibly increase your dosage when you feel the need to.