Functions and Food Sources of Vitamin A

Vitamin A is an alcohol compound and one of the fat soluble vitamins stored in the liver and adipose tissue of the body. The chemical name of vitamin A is retinol. It is available in many forms like retinol, retinyl esters and retinoic acid. This article is about the functions and food sources of vitamin A.

Functions of vitamin A:

• Renowned part about vitamin A is vision. Retinal is one form of vitamin A which helps in neural transmission of light into vision. i.e. in retina of the eye, retinal turns the visual light into nerve signals to the brain.
• Retinoic acid is essential for gene transcription and to treat skin diseases. For the developing fetus, it is essential for the growth of eyes, heart and lungs.
• It is essential for the growth and differentiation of epithelial, bone and nervous tissues.
• It helps eyes, skin and the mucous membranes of the nose, lungs, mouth to remain moist.
• It helps in reproduction, bone metabolism, hematopoiesis and wound healing.
• Beta-carotene is an anti-oxidant that protects the cells from damage by free radical cells and reduces the risk of certain types of cancers. It plays an important role in aging process.
• It is required for healthy skin and night vision.
• It provides immunity by production and activation of antibodies like white blood cells and maintains healthy epithelial cells. Hence, it protects the body from infections.
• Retinoids helps the stem cells for normal differentiation into red blood cells (RBCs). And also helps in mobilization of iron from the storage site to the developing site of red blood cells.

Food sources of vitamin A:
Vitamin A is available in two sources, animal sources and plant sources:

• Animal sources: Vitamin A in animal sources is called as retinoids. These retinoids includes retinols. They are stored in liver. Vitamin A is found in eggs, meat, fortified milk, cheese, cream, liver, kidney, cod and fish oil, etc.
• Plant sources: Vitamin A in plants sources are called as carotenoids. The caretonoids include beta-carotene. They are stored in liver and adipose tissue. The body will convert the beta-carotene into vitamin A. This vitamin is found in dark green, yellow vegetables and yellow fruits like broccoli, spinach, green leafy vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, apricots papaya, mango, pea, etc.

It is very important to get enough vitamin A in your diet for good vision, growth and overall development of the body.