The healthcare systems of many countries have come a long way. Besides that, access to nutritional food has also increased a lot due to the adoption of modern and advanced agriculture.
Despite all that progress, there still remains a prevalent cause of blindness among many due to vitamin A deficiency. The deficiency of this vitamin is a leading cause of preventable blindness among children.
Currently, vitamin A deficiency remains one of the most pressing health concerns across many countries around the globe. Especially women and children from low-income countries remain at the greatest risk of suffering from the implications of vitamin A deficiency.
But First, What Exactly Is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is one of the most important fat-soluble vitamins involved in many crucial functions of the body. The human body stores all of the vitamin A in the liver as they are obtained through the diet. Vitamin A plays a key role in maintaining the health of your vision, skin, and mucous membranes, and it even helps enhance your immune system.
Most studies suggest that vitamin A comes with anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties that play a key role in maintaining your health. This ideal soluble vitamin offers robust protection against many pathological conditions that can have an adverse impact on different organs in the human body.
Many even suggest that vitamin A acts as a protective agent for the respiratory system, brain health, and even intestinal health. Thus, maintaining the appropriate level of It in your body is a non-negotiable undertaking for all. Vitamin A foods are important to ensure you have a healthy vision, a functional heart, skin, and a robust immune system.
Food Sources Of Vitamin A
One can find two different types of nutrients in almost any type of food one consumes. The first type is active, while the second is carotene. The active vitamin A, also known as retinol, can be easily absorbed by the body and is generally found in animals and their by-products. Some examples of retinol-rich food items include meat from the liver or kidney and even egg yolks from pastured chicken.
On the other hand, beta carotene is a precursor to vitamins and is generally found in colorful veggies and fruits. It is only after the ingestion of food that beta carotene is transformed into retinol. Carrots, kale, sweet potato, button squash, and spinach are excellent sources of beta carotene.
Everyone must make sure to include these vitamin A sources in their diet. This ensures they have healthy eyesight and other benefits that come with consuming vitamin A. Besides that, it also helps counter dry and inflammatory skin complications. In the case of Its deficiency, one can even choose supplementation for the same.
Ideal Daily Intake Of Vitamin A
The daily recommended intake for It can vary based on a number of factors such as age, sex, and more. It is important to be mindful of these requirements as they can otherwise lead to vitamin A deficiency.
An average woman must consume 700 grams of vitamin A, while that concentration increases to 900 grams each day for men. In the case of a pregnant woman, it is recommended to consume 770 grams, and a lactating woman needs about 1300 grams each day.
Furthermore, the requirement again varies extensively based on their age when it comes to children. A child of 0-6 months requires 400 grams, 1-12 months requires 500 grams, 1-3-year-olds require 300 grams, 4-8-year-olds require 400 grams, and 9-13-year-olds require 600 grams. Also, boys of 14-18 years require 900 grams and girls of the same age group require 700 grams.
Less Known Benefits Of Consuming Vitamin A
Vitamin A has many benefits as they aid in many essential body functions. Therefore, let’s check out some of the less known vitamins A benefits.
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Enhanced Immunity:
Vitamin A plays a key role in enhancing the overall immunity of an individual. It stimulates the immune cells that are engineered to attack and target different microbes that can cause diseases and other health complications. Vitamin A acts as the first line of defense in the digestive tract lining, skin, and airway lining, keeping all the harmful bacteria out of the body.
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Development Of Prenatal Organs:
The other important role It plays in facilitating the development of different prenatal organs. These organs include the eyes, heart, lungs, ears, and even the fetus’s limbs. This makes it very important for pregnant women to satisfy the vitamin A requirements of their bodies. Failing to do so can result in adverse complications and congenital disabilities in the newborn.
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Healthy Skin:
People go to all lengths to enhance the health of their skin. However, one does not really have to do much to maintain healthy skin. Simply consuming foods high in It can do wonders for your skin. This will help prevent and even treat the signs of skin damage and even photoaging. So, increase your vitamin A intake and forget about wrinkles, freckles, rough skin, and other skin-related complications!
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Enhanced Vision:
One of the most well-known benefits of It is enhanced vision. When light reaches your eyes, the same information is transferred to the brain, where the information is interpreted. This gives this information a shape of an image enabling one to comprehend what they see. Therefore, even the slightest complication caused by vitamin A deficiency can result in some severe complications for your eyes.
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Producing Red Blood Cells:
Maintaining the optimum healthy red blood cell production is crucial for the body. It enables the stem cells to develop into specialized red blood cells. Besides, vitamin A also plays an important role in prompting iron to produce more healthy red blood cells. This is imperative for people living with health conditions such as anemia.
Final Thoughts
Vitamin A certainly holds the title of one of the most important vitamins the human body needs to maintain optimal health. Therefore, keep this information in mind and make efforts to ensure optimum It intake at all times for better health and wellness of the body. This will certainly yield long-term health benefits for your body.
