Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin with several benefits for health and can be sourced from meat and, in a way, from vegetables. In this article, we will go through a bit of what it means to be a fat-soluble vitamin, the health benefits of Vitamin A, and sources and recommended daily values of Vitamin A from food sources or supplements. We will also talk a bit about deficiencies and over-consumption risks from Vitamins like Vitamin A.

Fat-soluble vitamins
Because Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, it can be stored in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are generally sourced from fatty or oily foods, and if they are obtained from fatty or oily food sources, they are dissolved with the fatty food source and available for absorption and immediate use or storage in fat cells or in the liver for later use. If fat-soluble vitamins are taken as supplements, that is, not sourced from fatty foods, they may need to be taken with fatty foods to help break them down and make the nutrients “bio-available.”

Health Benefits of Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a group of vitamin compounds known as retinoids (or retinols). Retinoids, specifically, are only available from animal product sources. There are also pro Vitamin A compounds, which are arguably a form of Vitamin A, but not always considered a form of Vitamin A, known as carotenoids. Carotenoids are found in plant sources. The most common carotenoid is beta carotene. Both Vitamin A compounds (retinoids) and pro Vitamin A compounds (carotenoids) are beneficial for health of eyes, skin, teeth, bones, soft tissues, blood cells, mucus membranes, and the immune system. Vitamin A also has anti-aging properties as a powerful antioxidant, meaning that it protects the skin and even at a cellular level protects cells from damage from free radicals. In addition to this, Vitamin A when it is consumed via plant sources (beta carotene sourced from eating raw vegetables, for instance) has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Of all of these health benefits, Vitamin A is most notably beneficial to eye health (the word retinol even derives from retinal health). Not surprisingly, deficiencies in Vitamin A are associated most notably with blindness and other vision problems such as chronic dry eyes. On the other hand, overdosing of Vitamin A is a legitimate concern (because the fat-soluble vitamin builds up in the system) if dosages are considered in long-term excess of dietary reference intakes. For reference, long-term dosages over 25,000 international units per day should be avoided to avoid liver problems and problems with the eyes, hair, and skin.

Vitamin A Foods
Retinol can be found in animal products such as meat, liver, kidneys, fish oils, eggs, milk, cheese, and cream. The foods with the highest concentrations of Vitamin A (retinol) are liver and fish oils. The other notable sources of Vitamin A that also contain pro Vitamin A are milk and eggs. Most pro Vitamin A comes from leafy greens, some vegetable oils, and other vegetables and fruits including carrots, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkins (as well as pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oils), apricots, grapefruits, and cantaloupe.

Picking the right foods
As I have said in other articles, such as my article on Vitamin C (even though it is an abundant water-soluble vitamin), it is relatively easy to get enough of the essential nutrients in your diet (including Vitamin A) that you need without much research or effort, simply by shopping for a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and meats. Foods that don’t need a label and will go bad within a week contain all the vitamins you need, and by eating a variety, it’s pretty brainless – you can’t go wrong.