Vitamin A: The Good News and the Bad
Vitamin A: The Good News and the Bad
Vitamin A, a vitamin that can only be dissolved in fat, is involved in the
formation and maintenance of healthy skin, hair, and mucous
membranes. Vitamin A is necessary for strong vision as well as for
proper bone growth, tooth development, and human reproduction.
According to recent surveys of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the average intake of Vitamin A by Americans 20 years of age
and older met the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). It is 800 retinol
equivalents per day for women 19 to 50 years of age and 1,000 retinol
equivalents for men 19 to 50 old.
Excellent sources of Vitamin A are yellow sweet potato, mango,
oranges, papaya, fish, and eggs. Dark-green vegetables and deep-
yellow fruits and vegetables can supply half of your daily requirement
for this vitamin, while meats and dairy products can easily provide
another twenty percent.
As you can see, eating a variety of foods is the best way to get an
adequate amount of Vitamin A. Those who eat a balanced diet rarely
need supplements. In fact, taking too much can be toxic because unlike
Vitamin C, the human body cannot easily excrete excess amounts
Vitamin A.
According to the United Nations World Health Organization, Vitamin A
deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in
children and raises the risk of disease and death from severe infections.
Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in 118 countries,
especially in low-income families in Africa and South-East Asia, where
young children and pregnant women are the usual victims. The World
Health Organization believes that an adequate supply of Vitamin A can
significantly reduce mortality especially among women and children.