Vitamin A or beta carotene?

Information on Vitamin A

Vitamin A is one of the most important nutrients and it is avital part of the development and growth of every human body. It can be ingested in two different ways: asvitamin A from various animal sources such as dairy products, egg yolks, fishoils and liver; and as beta carotene from vegetable and fruit sources such asapricots, peaches, squash, spinach, broccoli and carrots. Beta carotene getsconverted to retinol inside the human body. Vitamin A can be stored in the liveruntil it is needed for various processes. Vitamin A in a supplemental form canbe used for the prevention and treatment for several different types of cancer,even though the fact has not been proven by clinical studies yet.

Vitamin A is of utmost importance for normal vision,reproduction, bone development and growth. It is very efficient in maintainingproper health of the skin and the mucous membranes. It is highly beneficial inpreventing various sorts of infections in the urinary, digestive andrespiratory tracts. Vitamin A can also be used for the detoxification of theentire human body. One should always ingest vitamin A by means of a veryhealthy and well balanced diet. Such diet should include plenty of animal fats,dairy products, fresh vegetables and fruits, among other things. Therecommended daily allowance of vitamin A is 0.9 milligrams per day for adultmen and 0.7 milligrams per day for adult women. The allowance needs to beraised slightly in cases of pregnant or breastfeeding women. Vitamin A has been discovered in the earlytwentieth century and ever since that times it has been studied extensively,especially when it comes to the prevention and treatment of certain cancertypes.

What is the evidence?

If a person suffers from vitamin A deficiency, he or sheusually suffers from certain symptoms such as poor appetite, diarrhea,inflammatory conditions of the eyes, weak teeth, weak bones, poor growth,blindness, poor night vision and a severely lowered resistance to differenttypes of infections. Vitamin A is very efficient when it comes to enhancing andboosting the functioning of the immune system. It is a disappointing fact thatvitamin A in supplemental form can actually increase the risk of heart diseaseand lung cancer in smokers. To make things worse, certain studies have shownthat those who take vitamin A in supplemental form commonly have a shorter lifeexpectancy than those who do not take the supplements.