Ward Off Disease And Aging With Vitamin A

Everyone wants to look better and be healthier as they age and vitamin A can play an important role in helping you achieve this. This powerful antioxidant neutralizes free radicals that can oxidize yourselves causing serious health problems. Some of the problems attributed to oxidation include arthritis, heart disease, cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease and macular degeneration.

Vitamin A is also necessary for healthy skin and is thought to help ward off wrinkles. It also plays an important role in keeping the mucous membranes healthy which can affect the health of your lungs, eyes, digestive tract, kidneys, bladder, throat, malls and reproductive system. For these reasons, vitamin A plays a vital role in enhancing your immune system and keeping you healthy. In addition, vitamin A plays a role in keeping your bones and teeth as well as your vision in tip top shape and is said to help keep cholesterol levels low.

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin and it works along with carotenes that our plant-based forms of this vitamin to keep you in good health. there are over 600 carotenes and around 40 of them involve vitamin A activity. Carotenes occur in plants and are the brightly colored orange pigments, like in carrots, that are critical to the photosynthesis process. These carotenes help protect your body against free radicals just as they help protect the plants against them.

Vitamin A helps to increase the production of RNA. This is the part of the cell that has the instructions for life. Stepped up production of RNA will help your body create new cells faster that can replace your old and worn out cells.

How You Can Get More Vitamin A

Adult males should try to get 600 mcg of vitamin E each day and females should strive for 500 mcg. If you are pregnant you want to take 800 mcg and bump that up to 851 breast-feeding.

You can get more vitamin A new diet by eating foods that have it. one of the best foods you can take to increase vitamin A in your body is fish liver oil. You can also get it from halibut, cod, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables. Fruits that have an orange color such as nectarines, apricots, cantaloupes, mandarin oranges, mangoes, watermelons and even plums are high and vitamin A.

Vegetables that are high and vitamin A include vegetables that are dark green as well as those that are brightly colored. These include carrots, sweet potato, tomatoes, pumpkin, red pepper, squash, peas, turnips, lettuce, broccoli, chicory, romaine, kale, collard greens, and scroll.

Vitamin A Deficiencies

Vitamin A deficiencies are rare but can happen and are typically caused by poor diet. The elderly can be vulnerable to vitamin A deficiencies as well as people living in parts of the world where diets are poor.

The predominant symptom of vitamin A deficiency is decreasing vision. Not being able to see well at night and dry eyes are typical symptoms. Also diseases of the skin such as Acme and psoriasis can result from insufficient levels of vitamin A. But be aware that these problems can also stem from many other places and may not necessarily indicate a vitamin A deficiency.

Before taking any vitamin supplements or changing your diet you’ll want to consult your healthcare professional to be sure that adding more vitamin A into your diet does not conflict with any of your medications or illnesses.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.a2z-vitamin-and-herbs.com where you can learn more about Vitamin A and the vital role that herbs and vitamins play in your health.