2023-12-05 06:16:58
A deficiency of vitamin A can sometimes lead to eye damage. You can consume it primarily through animal fats. What you need to know about vitamin A.
The human body needs different vitamins so that it feels as good as possible. An important nutrient is vitamin A. Even if it is less well-known than vitamin C, for example, it is essential for our bodies. A deficiency can lead to vision damage. You can find out here what the other symptoms of vitamin A deficiency are and what you can do about it.
Possible vitamin A deficiency: What exactly is vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a so-called fat-soluble vitamin and is only found in animal foods. It is also known as retinol. There are precursors of vitamin A that are also found in plant foods. This includes provitamin A (β-carotene), which is one of the so-called carotenoids. β-Carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the body.
Vitamin A: Where can you find the vitamin?
Vitamin A is found in animal foods. These include the following products:
Milk Cheese Liver Meat Eggs Butter
Liver is particularly rich in vitamin A; other products contain smaller amounts of the vitamin. Provitamin A, i.e. β-carotene, is also found in the following plant products:
Green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach, kale, lamb’s lettuce) Yellow vegetables Carrots Tomatoes Beans Broccoli
These carotenoids are better absorbed by the body when cooked or consumed with fats (e.g. oils).
How much vitamin A does the human body need?
Adults between 25 and 51 years of age will have a daily amount of vitamin A of 0.8 milligrams for women and 1.0 milligrams for men recommended. An increased dose applies to pregnant women from the fourth month onwards, as they have an increased need in this state. 1.1 milligrams per day are recommended here. The requirement is even higher for breastfeeding women; they should consume 1.5 milligrams per day. However, women should not consume liver in the first trimester of pregnancy and should also eat little of it later in the pregnancy.
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If you cannot consume vitamin A, for example because of a vegan diet, two to four milligrams of β-carotene are recommended. Basically, one milligram of vitamin A can be compared to six milligrams of β-carotene. You can find a detailed list of the recommended values broken down by age group on the Website of the German Society for Nutrition.
What are the symptoms of vitamin A deficiency?
Vitamin A plays an important role in the visual process, especially in seeing light and dark. If you have a vitamin A deficiency, your eyes’ ability to adapt to changes between light and dark may become worse. This can go so far that night blindness occurs. Those affected see significantly worse at dusk or at night than people with healthy eyes. If the deficiency persists for a very long time, it can even lead to blindness.
Another effect of vitamin A deficiency is a weakening of the immune system. This makes those affected more susceptible to infections. However, a serious infectious disease due to vitamin A deficiency is very rare in industrialized nations.
In general, the younger patients are, the more the vitamin A deficiency affects them. As a result, children are often affected by stunted growth and infections. Children who suffer from severe vitamin A deficiency sometimes have one Mortality rate of over 50 percent.
Overdose: Is it possible to consume too much vitamin A?
Yes, an overdose of vitamin A is also possible. Typical acute symptoms are headaches, but chronic symptoms such as skin and skeletal changes as well as liver enlargement and jaundice and even cirrhosis can also occur. However, with a normal diet, an overdose of vitamin A is very unlikely.
Nutrient preparations are more dangerous here. In smokers, an overdose of β-carotene can cause lung damage. For these reasons, taking nutritional supplements should always be discussed with a doctor.
How does vitamin A deficiency occur?
The development of a vitamin A deficiency is primarily related to a person’s diet. For example, in South and East Asia, where the staple diet is rice, which does not contain β-carotene, vitamin A deficiency is common. In developing countries, vitamin A deficiency is a common cause of blindness in children.
However, it is not just the diet that causes a vitamin A deficiency. In some cases, vitamin A is absorbed but cannot be sufficiently transported or stored. This can be the result of chronic diarrhea or cirrhosis.
Vitamin A deficiency: treatment
If a person suffers from a vitamin A deficiency, this is usually combated with vitamin A palmitate. The dose administered depends on the severity of the deficiency, the age and gender of the patient and their health situation.
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