While everyone knows that doctors across the board recommend getting your daily dose of vitamins all in one tiny little pill, people often wonder what, if anything, these vitamins actually do for you except be another way to spend money! While there are some vitamins we all know are important to an extent (I’m sure everyone’s heard that getting vitamin C is important for helping fight off colds and other illnesses), some others, such as vitamin A, are less commonly heard about. What does vitamin A do, if anything? Surprisingly, the answer is ‘a lot’!
The first major benefit that can be given to you by vitamin A is that it keeps your vision strong. It assists in the formation of a chemical called rhodopsin, which is needed for you to see black and white, as well as see during the night time. Without enough vitamin A, you could experience night blindness. If you have a deficiency for a much longer period of time, keratin deposits can build up in your eyes until they eventually destroy your cornea, which could leave you permanently blind.
Vitamin A also helps keep your skin healthy and looking nice. Getting enough vitamin A can keep your sebaceous glands less active. In case you didn’t know, it is excretions from your sebaceous glands that are responsible in part for causing acne. So getting enough vitamin A can keep your skin clear and looking nice.
Perhaps more important than the benefits of vitamin A are the devastating effects that occur in individuals who have vitamin A deficiencies. As mentioned earlier in the article, having a deficiency can ultimately lead to going blind. If that wasn’t bad enough, a deficiency can also impair your immune system, give you bladder and respiratory problems, and damage the enamel on your teeth!
So now that we’ve uncovered the benefits of getting enough vitamin A, as well as the dangers of not getting enough, it’s time to explain where you can find it. The easiest place to get it is by just taking a multivitamin every day-the typical multivitamin has just enough, if not a little bit more, of Vitamin A that you need day to day. If you’re not so keen on multivitamins, however, there are a lot of foods that have it in them as well. Without a doubt, liver is the best place to get vitamin A. However, many people don’t like to eat liver, so luckily most green and yellow vegetables also have vitamin A. Carrots are the best choice here; an average carrot has 93% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A. Eggs and cheddar cheese also have some vitamin A in them, but not as much as the vegetables, which is why it is important to have a varied and balanced diet that covers all major food groups; this will help ensure that, in addition to vitamin A, you’ll get all the vitamins your body needs!
