In simpler terms vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. The active form of vitamin A is retinol which is found in some animal liver and whole milk. Retinol plays a positive and beneficial role in increasing immunity, inflammatory, genetic and reproductive health benefits. These benefits can only be enjoyed by retinol forms of the vitamin. These retinol forms of the vitamin are very essential for child birth, pregnancy, infancy, childhood growth, night vision, red blood cell production and resistance to infection.
If you want to focus on the vitamin A benefits related to eye health your food should include two carotenoid forms of the vitamin A which are lutein and zeaxanthin. They can be found in spinach, kale and Swiss chards. Interestingly this carotene is responsible for the orange color of the carrots and many fruits and veggies. Do you know that the pink color of wild flamingo is due to the beta carotene they absorb from the blue green algae in their diet?
The vitamin A is got from goat’s milk, cow’s milk, shrimp, eggs, salmon, halibut, cheese, yogurt, scallops, sardines, tuna, cod and chicken. The plant sources which are rich in vitamin A are lettuce, kale, spinach, mustard grass, carrots, sweet potato, collard greens, turnip greens and winter squash. Just a bit of advice if you are unfamiliar with the names of some veggies just google it and see to obtain a clear picture of it.
Take care,
Swarnam
Take care,
Swarnam
Swarnam