I am sure you all have heard of Vitamin A, but did you know that Vitamin A is actually a fat soluble vitamin and a powerful antioxidant? Read on to learn more about the awesome health benefits of Vitamin A and how to easily increase your intake in a tasty way!

This week’s Nutrients by the Alphabet: Vitamin A

That’s right, in this new series – Nutrients by the Alphabet – you will learn all about important nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants), their health benefits, and easy and delicious ways to get more of the good stuff with a fun recipe to try each week (courtesy of my awesome student-intern from Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School – Shelby Persechino)!

So what is Vitamin A?

Vitamin A is an awesome vitamin and has tons of health benefits such as strong vision, immune support, clear skin, and many more. Vitamin A, in the plant form as Beta carotene, helps prevent macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness. Studies have shown that people taking Vitamin A daily have had better vision in the long run. Vitamin A plays an essential part in the immune system functions by helping fight serious conditions like cancer and autoimmune diseases, and also not so serious illnesses like common colds or the flu. Vitamin A prevents cells from becoming overactive decreasing the risk for food allergies and inflammation. A lower risk of inflammation can also lower the risk to have Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, Vitamin A has the capability to regulate malignant cells in the body, which helps treat forms of cancer such as lung, breast, bladder, skin, prostate, ovarian, and oral cancer. Vitamin A also helps with wound healing, re-growth of the skin, acne, and keeping lines and wrinkles away; basically, helping to improve the health of your skin! Now who doesn’t want healthier, glowing skin?!

So how much Vitamin A do we need each day and where can I find good sources of it?

For people who are 14 years and older, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Vitamin A (in beta-carotene form) is 3,000 IU for males and 2,300 IU for females. While you can find a decent multivitamin supplement with sufficient amounts of Vitamin A, you should choose natural sources, like food, to meet your Vitamin A needs. Vitamin A can be found in food and drinks like liver, milk, carrots, avocados, melon, bell peppers, peaches, eggs, broccoli, squash, spinach, kale, lettuce, sweet potatoes, etc.

Looking for an easy and delicious way to increase your Vitamin A intake the natural way? Here’s a good recipe to help you load up on more Vitamin A! Try this delicious Thai Carrot Soup from “Eat this Much”.