Originally published July 15 2005
Vitamin A comes in two forms: Performed and pro
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
While vitamin A is important to a healthy immune system, it is possible to get too much of a form of the vitamin known as "performed" vitamin A, which does not occur naturally in foods but can be converted to vitamin A within the body. Pregnant women are advised to take supplements containing pro-vitamin A, the actual vitamin, to prevent birth defects.
V itamin A is important for our health, but it's a bit complex.
Because it's a fat-soluble vitamin and can be stored in your body, it's possible to get too much.
If you're deficient in vitamin A, you may have dry, thick skin, or even little bumps around your hair follicles.
You could have digestive problems, dry eyes or poor night vision.
This is important to us because a thyroid deficiency makes it nearly impossible to lose weight while also making you sluggish and depressed.
Vitamin A is measured in retinol equivalents (REs) or international units (IUs).
There are two forms of vitamin A: preformed vitamin A and pro-vitamin A. In other words, some food contains actual vitamin A, while other foods contain substances your body can convert into vitamin A. Preformed vitamin A is found in animal foods, especially fish liver oil, liver, eggs, whole milk, cream and butter.
Pro-vitamin A, or carotene, is found in deep green and yellow or orange vegetables and fruits.
Carrots have a bit more carbohydrate, but are so high in carotenes that just five or six baby carrots will supply your RDA with just 3 grams of usable carb.
You can easily consume twice the RDA of vitamin A without any problem, and some people may benefit.
It is possible to get too much vitamin A, but acute poisoning is rare.
It's mostly limited to children who accidentally overdose on vitamin pills that contain preformed vitamin A. This is a very good reason to keep supplements out of the reach of small children.
Taking more than 3,000 IUs of preformed vitamin A daily during pregnancy has been known to cause birth defects; many authorities recommend that pregnant women take only supplements containing pro-vitamin A.
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