Vitamin A Benefits, Sources, Dosage & Side Effects

As already stated, vitamin A is essential for proper vision and eyesight. Its deficiency can result in various eye-related problems, particularly dryness of the eye and diminished vision at night. Vitamin A is made of carotenoids, which are known for their antioxidant activities and protective functions.

As we age, the effects of biological oxidation get higher and the eyesight gets affected. Supplementation with vitamin A is known to reduce age-related macular degeneration (slowly progressing disease advancing to blindness), which helps in maintaining good vision even as an individual ages. Dietary supplementation with foods rich in carotenoid is found to be more effective than vitamin A supplements.

Read more: Foods to improve eyesight

Other than in the advancing age, vitamin A is known to have beneficial effects on the vision for all. It helps in reducing retinal degeneration (degeneration of cells in the retina), which is responsible for blindness. It is particularly essential to maintain adequate levels of this vitamin during pregnancy. Deficiency of vitamin A during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for birth defects in infants. However, supplements may not be taken, since they pose a similar risk.

Night blindness is the first symptom of retinal degeneration, caused due to retinitis pigmentosa (a group of inherited disorders). The retina of the eye is responsible for converting light signals into vision. Degeneration of the retina in this condition begins during adolescence (teenage) or young adulthood, following which, affected individuals may progress to blindness in their 40s.

It is an inheritable disorder and can be transferred to offsprings, which makes it all the more essential to avoid this condition. Since the treatment of this condition is not equally successful, it is advisable to reduce its risk by adding more vitamin A to your diet. It is often said that vitamin A is fuel for the retina (and vision), so load up on it!

Vitamin A is a common constituent of the epidermis (topmost layer of the skin) and takes part in the epidermal turnover (replacing of old skin cells with the newer). The epidermal turnover rate is higher in infants and young children, and it gradually diminishes with age. This gives the skin an old and wrinkled appearance.

Vitamin A helps to form and maintain your skin cells, which helps in reducing fine lines and creases on the face. Since epidermal vitamin A is vital for this process, treatments aimed at increasing its level can be highly beneficial. Topical (applied on the skin) retinoid solutions are one such alternative.

They help in reducing oxidative damage (damage caused by free radicals) and the damage caused to your skin by UV rays. UV rays are further known to reduce the levels of epidermal vitamin A. So, protecting the skin from direct sunlight can also be helpful in reducing skin damage. As for topical retinoid agents, natural retinoic acid precursors like retinaldehyde or retinol are more beneficial and less irritant than acidic retinoids.

Read more: How to treat sunburn

However, you are highly recommended not to make use of these agents without your physician’s consult. Some over-the-counter products like creams and moisturizers, which already have vitamin A added in them can be opted for.

Read more: Skin disorders and diseases

Vitamin A is essential for cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis (programmed death of cells on their own). It also regulates the process of organogenesis (formation of various body organs) and has a significant role in the immune response of the mucosa. For these reasons, it has been used for the prevention and treatment of cancer and certain metabolic diseases.

Individuals who consume foods containing beta-carotene in high amounts have a lower risk of cancer, as demonstrated by various studies. However, these studies have also suggested that carotenoids help in the prevention of certain kinds of cancer, but mixed results have been obtained. Risks of some cancers have been known to increase with these supplements, so, their role is still debatable.

As already stated, deficiency of vitamin A is fairly common during pregnancy, due to higher demands. This can cause several birth defects in the fetus. Other than fetal defects, a deficiency of vitamin A may also increase the risk of preterm labour (birth of the child before the full term of 39 to 40 weeks). This is further a threat to the health and survival of the infant. Such babies are more prone to serious health problems and learning disabilities, which may continue until adulthood.

Read more: Pregnancy diet

Thus, it is essential to supplement your diet with vitamin A rich foods during pregnancy, so that you do not require a supplement, having similar side effects. You can simply increase the number of food items that you consume from the above list. In addition to protecting the health of your infant, vitamin A will also help you reduce the risk of developing maternal anaemia or hypertension, and will ensure your best maternal health.

Vitamin A has other benefits during pregnancy and breastfeeding. According to one study, topical application of carrot poultice helps in reducing breast engorgement. Breast engorgement refers to tender, swollen and hard lump-like structures in the breast, due to an excessive amount of breast milk.  However, other research suggests that breast engorgement is self-limiting, so it is not obvious that the topical application of carrot on breasts has any treatment efficacy.

Read more: Breast lump causes

Vitamin A is essential for infants and children to aid in their proper growth and development. It helps in avoiding childhood infections and illnesses. Vitamin A reduces various health-related risks in infants and children.

Dietary supplementation of vitamin A is appropriate for children who have already started with a solid diet. However, in case of infants, adequate levels of vitamin A have to be maintained by improving the maternal intake of the vitamin. So, the recommended daily intake of vitamin A is higher in lactating women. They are recommended to take at least 1300 mcg of retinol rich foods per day to enhance the levels of carotenoids in the milk.

Dietary supplementation of vitamin A during lactation is known to improve immune function and antioxidant actions in children. No known risks are observed in infants even at a higher dosage, however, a dosage higher than 3000 mcg must be avoided.

Read more: Diet for breastfeeding mothers

Vitamin A is quite an essential vitamin for your brain. Its effects on the brain are pronounced in all stages of life. It has a very important role during childhood and infancy, as it helps in the proper growth, development and differentiation of the brain cells. This ensures optimal function and capacity of the brain even during adulthood.

Read more: Poor memory

In a fully grown adult brain, differentiation is less likely to occur. However, certain changes are possible even in adults, termed as neural plasticity, which regulates memory and function in adults. Other than this, vitamin A also helps in maintaining the circadian rhythm, which helps in regulating your sleep and feeding cycle. Thus, it is a good idea to include more vitamin A in your diet to enhance your brain function. It will also help in regulating the circadian clock, enhancing several body functions and helping to regulate sleep.

Read more: Insomnia causes

Measles is a highly infectious disease, which is fairly prevalent in India, despite the availability of vaccinations and preventive measures. It is a serious viral disease and increases the risk of death in infants. More than 5000 cases are reported in India each year and have been invariably noticed in malnourished children who had a vitamin A deficiency.

Intramuscular injections of vitamin A have been tried in malnourished children. They have been found to significantly reduce the incidence of measles. A reduced rate of mortality and a better survival rate has also been observed among them.

Read more: Balanced diet chart

Supplementation with vitamin A has several health benefits for the elderly. Being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A is known to reduce the effects of ageing on the skin. It helps in keeping the skin tight and supple as individual ages.

Read more: Home remedies for face skin tightening

Vitamin A also helps in avoiding vision-related disorders in the elderly and also reduces retinal degeneration and blindness. Other than this, vitamin A is known to prevent cognitive (related to brain functioning and memory) disorders in the elderly by reducing oxidative stress in the brain.

Oxidative stress is responsible for diminished memory and cognition as an individual ages. So, Vitamin A is vital for the elderly since it improves their mental and physical functioning required for daily activities.