Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist, formulated the concept
of vitamins in the year 1912 during his investigation of
the apparent tendency of brown rice to reduce the risk of
the beriberi. He first coined the word "vitamine", which
was later modified to "vitamin".
What does vitamin A do for the body or what is it
responsible for? Great question. Vitamin A helps you to
maintain healthy skin, strong eyesight, and strengthen your
immune system—among other things. Vitamin A is also
considered an Antioxidant. Antioxidants are substances
which prevent or slow down damage caused by "by-products"
of "oxygen use" by body cells. They are known for cancer
prevention and anti-aging.
Where can you find vitamin A? Natural foods such as oranges
and yellow fruits are known to contain substantial doses of
vitamin A. Vitamin A has also been found to be largely
available in vegetables such as Spinach, and fats. The
vitamin in the vegetables is water soluble. What that means
is that it is not stored in the body and must be replaced
each day. Vitamin A in vegetables comes in the form of
beta carotene, which an excellent way for your body to get
it.
It has been proven that, in most diets, the majority of
vitamin A needed for your survival comes from fat in the
food you consume. People on low fat or restricted diet may
not be getting an adequate amount of vitamin A needed for
their bodies to function properly. Persons suffering from
vitamin A deficiency are also advised to consume a high
level of protein as protein helps your body absorb vitamin
A, combines with vitamin A to make it stronger, and help it
move through your body.
So what's your recommended daily intake of vitamin A? To
keep your body in optimum health, consuming around 5,000
international units (IU) of vitamin A daily is recommended.
To put things into perspective, one medium orange gives you
approximately 269 IU of vitamin A. A medium avocado
contains approximately 1230 IU of vitamin A. A medium
sized banana contains approximately 95 IU of vitamin A. A
slice of cantaloupe contains approximately 2225 IU of
vitamin A. A medium mango without peel contains
approximately 8060 IU of vitamin A. A medium peach
contains 524 IU of vitamin A. A smaller or larger dose of
the vitamin may be recommended depending on one's age and
health.
So what happens if you don't get an adequate daily intake
of vitamin A? The symptoms of vitamin A deficiency, like
any other nutritional deficiency, are wide and varied, and
often painful. Vitamin A deficiency may make itself evident
by skin problems, increased infections, and sometimes night
blindness, as well as signs of accelerated aging. As
recovering from a vitamin A deficiency is difficult and
complicated, you're advised to always stay up to date with
your vitamins intake.
On the other hand, some symptoms of an overdose of vitamin
A are pain in the joints, abdomen and bones. However,
these symptoms are rare and you should always strive to get
an adequate vitamin intake. If your lifestyle is one that
inhibits your ability to indulge in vitamin enriched or
natural foods, you may want to consider vitamin
supplements—the ones with no side effects.
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Patrick Carpen is the designer and owner of the website:
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The Platinum Recipes Collection lists thousands of recipes
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