Vitamin A is found in the form of carotenoids mainly in red, yellow and dark green foods. Utopia explains what we need it for, how we meet our daily needs and what happens in the event of an overdose.
The body cannot produce vitamin A itself, so it has to be ingested through food. The term “vitamin A” describes a group of compounds that have vitamin A effects: in addition to the central active form retinol, retinyl esters from animal sources and the precursor provitamin A (the carotenoids) from plant-based foods belong to the vitamin A group. Carotenoids are the red, orange, dark green and yellow coloring agents in food. A classic and well-known example of this is the carrot. The body can convert the carotenoids into vitamin A.
The function of vitamin A.
The most well-known function of vitamin A (also called: retinal, retinol, retinoic acids, retinyl palmitate, axerophthol) is that it makes the Visual performance is supported. Hence the popular wisdom that carrots are good for the eyes. Vitamin A is also important for the following processes:
- Function and structure of skin and mucous membranes
- Protection of skin cells from DNA damage (e.g. from the sun)
- Red blood cell formation
- Installation of iron
- Bone formation and healing
- Digestion / metabolism of protein
- Preservation of nerve cells (brain, spinal cord, etc.)
- Strengthening the immune system
- Support in the formation of antibodies and white blood cells
- Formation of sperm
- Formation of hormones (also estrogen and testosterone)
- During pregnancy: development of the embryo
What happens in the event of a deficiency?
In Germany there is a vitamin A deficiency only with very one-sided malnutrition and permanently increased need due to changed living conditions or diseases on: Chronic diseases in which the digestion and absorption of fat is disturbed, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, liver diseases or disorders of the pancreas, can lead to a deficiency. In developing countries, on the other hand, children in particular are at risk of suffering from a vitamin A deficiency and, as a result, going blind or even dying.
It’s actually very simple: If the body lacks vitamin A, it can do everything it needs for less or no longer at all. Therefore, a deficiency leads to:
- Hair loss
- Dryness of the skin, hair and mucous membranes
- Night blindness
- Visual disturbances
- Iron deficiency can be related to vitamin A deficiency
- increased risk of infection
- increased risk of cancer
- Decreased fertility
- fatigue
- Stunted growth in children
- Impairment of the sense of smell and touch
- Loss of appetite has many causes – vitamin A deficiency is one of them
Side effects of an overdose of vitamin A.
Danger: too much vitamin A is unhealthy! The body can only excrete too much of the ingested vitamin very poorly and therefore stores it in the liver. This also explains why animal liver has the highest vitamin A content among foods.
An excess leads to non-specific symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, muscle pain, dry and reddened skin, hair loss and brittle fingernails. A chronic excess of vitamin A can lead to pathological changes in the liver, spleen and thyroid glands and even to liver cirrhosis. Growth retardation is possible in children and deformities can occur in the embryo.
Anyone who eats meat should make sure that they only consume liver and products containing liver (e.g. liver sausage) occasionally in order to prevent excessive intake of the vitamin. This is especially true for children. Pregnant women should avoid dishes with liver altogether and be careful not to take in too much vitamin A through vitamin preparations, as this can damage the fetus.
Too much beta carotene, provitamin A, is harmless and is stored in the skin, among other things. This can lead to a slight yellowing of the skin, which is often seen in babies whose first solid meals are often based on carrots. In general, it is unlikely that foods – with the exception of liver – will absorb too much vitamin A. However, you should be careful with dietary supplements: improper intake of vitamin A supplements can lead to oversupply.
Daily need for vitamin A.
Of the Adult needs fluctuates depending on gender, living conditions and age. Men generally have a higher need for vitamin A than women. In general, the daily requirement for adults is between 0.7 and 0.85 mg, can also be higher (with stress, smoking, strong sunlight on the skin, protein-rich diet, alcohol consumption, medication, pregnancy and breastfeeding).
Vitamin A is fat soluble. This means that the body needs fat to absorb the vitamin. So when Grandma mixed a piece of butter with the carrots, it wasn’t just to make it taste better. However, 2.4 to 5 grams of fat (one teaspoon of oil) is enough to make vitamin A from carotenoids. A completely fat-free meal is almost impossible anyway – so you can leave out the piece of butter.
Which foods contain the vitamin?
You can roughly remember: if a Fruit or vegetables are yellow, orange, deep dark green or red is, chances are good that is in it lots of carotenoids, so it contains provitamin A. This includes not just the carrots, but also the pumpkin, sweet potato, corn, peppers, tomato, kale, spinach, broccoli, and apricot.
The more of it ends up on your plate, the better. However, a portion of spinach (200 g) or a small glass of carrot juice (100 ml) is enough to meet your daily needs. You can see when carrots, spinach and other fruit and vegetables with a high vitamin A content are in season in our seasonal calendar.
It occurs as retinol or retinyl ester in animal products and is particularly high in liver and fatty products. So the highest vitamin A content in animal foods is in after the liver Butter, egg yolks and fatty fish like finding salmon.
If you like to eat liver specialties, a tiny piece of liver is enough. The proportion is much lower in egg, butter and dairy products, so that it is (almost) impossible to completely cover the demand.
Beware of vitamin A in cosmetics
The BfR warns, by the way, To underestimate the daily intake of vitamin A through cosmetic products. There it is often used as an anti-aging ingredient to reduce small wrinkles.
Research showed that consistent use of such cosmetic products can lead to a 25 percent increase in intake. This is particularly critical as overdosing may lead to osteoporosis.
Utopia recommends:
To meet your daily need for vitamin A, you should mainly be grab plant foodsas these do not pose a risk of overdosing. You should definitely have a doctor clarify and monitor the intake of vitamin A supplements in order to avoid overdosing.
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