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Thread: Vitamin -A (The Right Choice)

  1. #1
    What Vitamin A We Should Choose?
    When we realize we are lack of vitamin A, we usually just go out buy whatever we can find at lowest possible prices, or some may go for a particular brand they believe with so called good reputation (mostly influenced by their ads, honestly). But do most of us really know what we are buying into?

    Vitamin A has three functions, most notably the protection of eyesight. Vitamin A is one of the major components of rhodopsin (mostly formed by protein) in the eye retina. Rhodopsin absorbs lights and stimulates biochemical reactions, eventually causes nerves' sensitivity. Second, vitamin A can also initiate gene expressions and ultimately control cell mutation. Vitamin A also affects our immune system, taste, hearing, appetite, skin renewal and bone development. Vitamin A's another role is to control embryonic development. Retinoic acid can also regulate the expressions of certain genes, which results in dominating the muscle and organ development.

    Lack of vitamin A is a common health problem in developing countries. Every year about 500,000 preschool children go blind due to vitamin A deficiency. Millions of people showed symptoms of blindness at night due to the same reason. It is estimated one million children in the world showing no symptoms at all even they are actually lack of Vitamin A.

    Vitamin A is actually a generic term for a large number of related compounds. Couple of major forms:

    1. Retinol - Absorbed when eating food of animal origin, is a yellow, fat-soluble substance. The vitamin is found in tissues in a form of retinyl ester and gets converted into alcohol retinol in the small intestine. It is commercially produced and administered as esters such as retinyl acetate or palmitate.
    2. Carotenoids (carotenes) - Found mainly in food of plant origin. Fruits and vegetables have about 50-60 species of carotene.

    Vitamin A naturally exist in many of our foods?
    * liver (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish) (6500 ?g 722%)
    * carrot (835 ?g 93%)
    * broccoli leaf (800 ?g 89%) - According to USDA database broccoli florets have
    much less.
    * sweet potato (709 ?g 79%)
    * butter (684 ?g 76%)
    * kale (681 ?g 76%)
    * spinach (469 ?g 52%)
    * pumpkin (400 ?g 41%)
    * collard greens (333 ?g 37%)
    * Cheddar cheese (265 ?g 29%)
    * cantaloupe melon (169 ?g 19%)
    * egg (140 ?g 16%)
    * apricot (96 ?g 11%)
    * papaya (55 ?g 6%)
    * mango (38 ?g 4%)
    * pea (38 ?g 4%)
    * broccoli (31 ?g 3%)
    * milk (28 ?g 3%)

    Since vitamin A from food of animal origin is fat-soluble, disposing of any excesses taken in through diet is much harder than with water-soluble vitamins B and C, thus vitamin A toxicity may occur, such as nausea, jaundice, irritability, loss of appetite, vomiting, blurred vision, headache, hair loss, muscle and abdominal pain and weakness, fatigue and mood swings (altered mental status). Usually when intake reaches doses as 25,000 IU / kg body weight,acute toxicity may occur. Liver toxicities can occur at levels as low as 15,000 IU per day to 1.4 million IU per day. In people with renal failure 4000 IU can cause substantial damage.

    However, the carotenoid forms (such as beta-carotene as found in carrots), give no such symptoms. It is converted into vitamin A base on our body needs. But excessive dietary intake of beta-carotene can lead to carotenodermia, which causes orange-yellow discoloration of the skin. Once you stop taking or reduce the dosage of the vitamin, discoloration usually disappears. Those reports that relate large doses of vitamin A to brittle bones all refer to the preformed vitamin A, not carotenoid. ?-carotene is known as the best among all. ?-carotene in food does not increase toxins in blood or liver. So if you need vitamin A, the ones labeled with "Vitamin A (as ?(beta)-Caratene)" is your best choice!

  2. #2
    Thank you so much for the informational post doc.

    So access of vitamin A is also dangerous? Are blood tests the only way to know about it?

  3. #3
    A person that has taken an overdose of Vitamin A is said to have what is called hypervitaminosis A.

    The common symptoms of a Vitamin A overdose are:

    1. You have an upset stomach

    2. There is lack of hunger

    3. You have a headache

    4. The skin will peel

    5. Hair loss is common when taking too much of Vitamin A.

    6. The spleen will become enlarged

    7. The liver also could easily become too large

    8. Irregular menstrual periods

    9. Fatigue

    10. Lips are crackly, especially at the sides

    11. Jaundice of the skin

    12. Body aches all over

    13. Dizziness is not all that uncommon

    14. Poor ability to gain weight in babies and small children.

    Testing will show that a person that has taken an overdose of Vitamin A over time will have high cholesterol and also high calcium levels. The creatnine score which is the kidney function will also read out abnormal, which means there has been kidney damage.

    So taking an overdose of Vitamin A can cause a person much damage to the skin and also the bones. Your bones can seriously be weakened and frail.

    An overdose of Vitamin A is classified at more than 25,000 IU per day. If a woman overdoses on Vitamin A during her pregnancy , this can cause birth defects.

    It has also been reported that males overdosing on Vitamin A can develop prostate cancer unless they cut back to normal doses before it's too late.

    People should be aware that taking a lot of a certain vitamin isn't harmless, and don't respect them. It can be very harmful, and people should not take anymore than is recommended daily. Everyone that puts any type of pills into their body whether vitamins, supplements, minerals, or medication should know and understand what these things are all about.

    Treating a Vitamin A overdose is easy to do. Just simply quit taking too much of it, and your system should restore itself back to normal health.

  4. #4
    the tests normally done to check Vitamin A overdose Tulip is not only blood tests but urine tests, swabs, diagnostic tests, lab tests, and pathology testing.i hope you are happy now Tulip

  5. #5
    Oh...Right. Thanks again Kadambari =)

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