Vitamin A
All about Vitamin A many uses
Vitamin A is the first of vitamins that are essential and vital supplements to our diets. Vitamin A
was given the first letter of the alphabet for a name because it was the first vitamin to be discovered. It was
found that vitamin A has a large number of uses in the body, including keeping eyes healthy, aiding cell growth and
also helping boost the immune system.
Vitamin A is converted from beta
carotene
In addition to being absorbed into our bodies directly, vitamin A is also created by the body by converting beta
carotene into vitamin A.

Carrots contain Vitamin A |
Vitamin A itself is found in a number of foods such as eggs, milk, liver and meat. Beta carotene that the body
can convert into vitamin A is found in many fruits and vegetables, especially the red, orange and green coloured
ones. The most important point to remember that consuming too much pure vitamin A can be toxic. It is essential not
to exceed the recommended daily allowance for vitamin A.
The actual recommended allowance of vitamin A varies depending on a person’s age, sex and other factors. While
the actual amount of vitamin A consumed may be toxic if the recommended daily allowance is exceeded, there is a far
higher limit to how much beta carotene can be consumed. Therefore it is advisable to concentrate on obtaining the
greatest amount of beta carotene which the body can then convert to vitamin A, rather than consuming vast
quantities of pure vitamin A rich foods.
Vegetables are rich with Vitamin A
Many people will remember being told that eating lots of carrots helps you to see in the dark and that is down
to the vitamin A that is produced from the high levels of beta carotene that are found in the vegetables. Other
foods which have high levels of beta carotene that can be converted to vitamin A include tomatoes and dark green
leafy vegetables, such as spinach.
Beta carotene is not only used to form vitamin A, but it is also a powerful antioxidant in itself. None of the
beta carotene that is absorbed is wasted as any excess after conversion to vitamin A has taken place is used to
fight the harmful free radicals within the body. Vitamin A also helps fight infections and illnesses by helping
tissues that line various parts of the body, including the eyes, mouth, nose, throat and lungs, to grow and also to
repair them if they are damaged to prevent infection. Children also need plenty of vitamin A to help their bones
and teeth to develop properly.
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