One of the fat soluble vitamins that is essential for the body is vitamin A, also known as retinol.

Functions

The main functions of vitamin A in the human body are to help you maintain healthy bones, teeth, soft tissue and mucous membranes. Vitamin A also plays an important role in the development of the pigments in the retina, making it critical for night vision.

Another substance, carotenoids, are often found in plant foods that are darker in color and can be processed by the body into a form vitamin A available for use. An example of one of these carotenoids is the anti-oxidant, beta-carotene. Beta-carotene can be found in foods such as carrots, pumpkin, winter squash, cantaloupe, broccoli, spinach and apricots. Including these regularly in your diet will not only help you maintain a good vitamin A status but will also provide the protection of the anti-oxidant properties against cell damage caused by free radicals.

Food sources of vitamin A itself are eggs, milk, meat, cheese and cod. It is important to note however that these sources are also quite high in saturated fat so you will have to use them sparingly in your diet. This makes getting a high intake of beta-carotene even more important as the foods that contain high amounts of this nutrient are much healthier.

Some individuals may worry about a higher intake of beta-carotene as consuming a great deal of these foods can cause the skin to turn to an orange tinge. If this a concern along with the saturated fat intake of foods containing vitamin A, then you next best choice will be to use a supplement to meet your needs. With all of the various forms available on the market today there is no reason that you should be neglecting this important nutrient.

Recommended Intake

The recommended intake of vitamin A is set at 5000 international units (IU) per day. If you do not meet these requirements then you set yourself up for an increased risk of symptoms such as night blindness, rough skin, sinus infections and chronic sore throat. It is possible however, as this is a fat soluble vitamin to take too much and have it become toxic. Since it is stored in the body tissues rather than excreted, long term over supplementation can be very dangerous with symptoms such as loss of appetite, headache, blurred vision, irritability, swelling in the arms and legs, nausea and enlargement of the spleen and/or liver being seen. Toxicity is especially harmful in pregnant women, as birth defects will likely.

In term of beta-carotene, the body will convert available beta-carotene to vitamin A as necessary, however intakes of 30 mg/day for a prolonged period of time can show the symptom of skin discoloration described above.

A final note to make is that those people who are consuming very low fat diets or who have a very low body fat percentage may have more difficulty storing this vitamin making daily intakes even more important. For most individuals, because of this storage ability, if you do not meet the requirement every so often it isn't going to be the end of the world provided overall you are getting enough.

So make sure you are either consuming foods high in vitamin A, beta-carotene or are supplementing your diet with a vitamin to ensure you are not missing out on this important micronutrient.