Sources of Vitamin A - Find Out All You Wanted To Know About Vitamin A Supplementation

What are the sources of vitamin A? What are its daily recommended intakes and precautions? Can vitamin A overdose cause toxicity? How to choose the right supplement? Find the answers here.

It is a disturbing fact that a huge majority of Americans do not include sufficient vitamin A sources in their regular diets. This was the research findings of two national surveys that were conducted in the 1990s.

How Much Vitamin A Do You Need Daily?

The FDA recommendations for daily requirements of vitamin A are as follows:

For adult men	900 mcg
For adult women	700 mcg
For pregnant women	770 mcg
For nursing mothers	1200 mcg

 

If you want to ensure that you are getting your daily requirements of vitamin A in the recommended amounts, then you should increase your intake of vitamin A rich food sources.

Food Sources of Vitamin A

There is a wide variety of vitamin A food sources. It is found in vegetables, fruits, meats, dairy products and grains.

Good food sources of vitamin A can be classified as those foods that provide around 10 to 19% of the recommended daily values (DV) of vitamin A.

On the other hand, excellent foods can be classified as those that provide 20% or more of the recommended daily value in a single serving.

Those foods providing less than 5% of the DV are regarded as low sources of vitamin A. However, the FDA states that even low vitamin A sources of food contribute towards a healthy diet.

Among the most concentrated vitamin A sources is the animal liver. The vitamin A that it contains can be easily assimilated by the human body.

For example, 3 ounces of cooked beef liver contains around 610% of the vitamin A DV. Similarly, 3 ounces of cooked chicken liver contains 400% of the DV.

Other animal products also contain vitamin A, although not in equally high concentrations.

• Fortified fat-free milk, 10%
• Whole milk, 1 cup, 6%
• Egg, 1 whole, 6%
• Cheddar cheese, 1 ounce, 6%

Vegetable Sources of Vitamin A

Vegetables are also good sources of vitamin A, but our body does not absorb them as easily as through animal sources. Nevertheless, due to the wide variety of vegetarian food sources available, it is easy to include them in your regular diet.

Carrot	1 medium	raw	400%
Carrots	1/2 cup	boiled	380%
Sweet potato	1/2 cup	cooked	140%
Spinach	1/2 cup	cooked	115%
Spinach	raw	1 cup	40%
Peas	frozen/boiled	1/2 cup	10%

Dark yellow fruits and oranges are tasty and nutritious vitamin A sources. Besides that, darker fruits contain higher concentrations of vitamin A.

Cantaloupe	cubed	1 cup	100%
Peach	raw	1 medium	10%
Peaches	canned	1/2 cup	10%
Apricots	canned	1/2 cup	10%
Papaya	cubed	1 cup	8%

Supplemental Sources of Vitamin A

Some people who suffer from disorders that limit or affect the body's fat absorption should consider using vitamin A supplements. Besides that, vegetarians should also consider supplemental vitamin A sources as they don't consume animal products at all.

In case you are a pregnant woman or nursing mother, even though your body's vitamin A needs increase, you should consult with your Doctor before you begin vitamin A supplementation of any kind.

Among the other excellent supplemental vitamin A sources is cod liver oil. In a single tablespoon, it provides around 400% of the vitamin A recommended DV. Besides that, vitamin supplements containing beta carotene or other usable vitamin A sources are also recommended.

Vitamin A Precautions

You need to be extra cautious in the case of vitamin A dosage because it is a fat-soluble vitamin and too much intake can be toxic and can lead to side effects.

A Comprehensive Product

We personally use a comprehensive nutritional supplement called Total Balance of Xtend-Life natural products, New Zealand. It contains more than 70 essential nutrients including beta carotene and vitamin A.

It also includes a full-spectrum of minerals, vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, amino acids, potent herbal extracts and speciality nutrients. In fact, it contains a vast majority of the nutrients that have been covered on this entire site!