Vitamin A and vitmain A Physiologic Effects
Vitamins are organic food substances found only in living things, i.e. plants and animals. They are essential for our bodies to function properly, for growth, energy and for our general well-being. With very few exceptions the human body cannot manufacture or synthesize vitamins. They must be supplied in our diet or in man-made dietary supplements. Some people believe that vitamins can replace food, but that is incorrect. In fact, vitamins cannot be assimilated without also ingesting food. That is why it is best to take them with a meal. Synthetic vitamin supplements can be of varying quality, so it is a good idea to get your supplements from a reliable source.
Fruits are a goldmine of vitamins, minerals and fibre!
For good vitamin uptake, it’s recommended that everyone should consume at least six servings in a day. Since fruit are in the natural form, consist for the largest part of water, and are 100% bad cholesterol free, it’s very easy for the body to process and absorb vitamins and minerals from fresh fruit.
Berries and Citrus Fruits
When it comes to providing us with a big boost of daily vitamins citrus fruits and berries come top of the nutrition list. That’s because they are full of essential vitamin C. Vitamin C is important for all kinds of metabolic functions in the body, for our immune system, for healing wounds, reducing cholesterol and protecting us from viruses and bacteria. Vitamin C is an antioxidant too. That means it takes on and destroys the free radicals, which whiz around our bodies damaging cells and causing illness and ageing. So vitamin C is a key player when it comes to staying healthy, feeling good and looking young.
Physiologic Effects of Vitamin A
Vitamin A and its metabolites retinal and retinoic acid appear to serve a number of critical roles in physiology, as evidenced by the myriad of disorders that accompany deficiency or excess states. In many cases, precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Some of the well-characterized effects of vitamin A include: Dietary vitamin A is obtained from preformed vitamin A (or retinyl esters) from animal food (liver, milk, kidney, and fish oil), fortified foods, and drug supplements, as well as from provitamin A carotenoids from plant sources, principally carrots. Dietary vitamin A is available mainly as preformed vitamin A in western countries and as provitamin A carotenoids in developing countries.
How much do I need?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. This means you don’t need it every day because any of the vitamin your body doesn’t need immediately is stored for future use.
You should be able to get all the vitamin A you need from your daily diet. This is:
0.7 mg a day for men
0.6 mg a day for women
