6 Benefits of Vitamin A for the Body
KOMPAS.com – Vitamin A is an important nutrient that supports various body performance.
Vitamin A deficiency and excess vitamin A can both harm health.
For that, everyone needs to meet the needs of vitamin A per day in sufficient quantities.
Also read: 7 Benefits of Vitamin B Complex for Health
Reporting from Live Science, the need for vitamin A per day for adult men in healthy condition is 900 micrograms.
Meanwhile, for women, the need is smaller, namely 700 micrograms.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. Like several other types of vitamins, these nutrients also function as antioxidants.
Antioxidants can protect body cells from the bad effects of free radicals.
Free radicals play a role in triggering heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.
Also read: 7 Benefits of Vitamin C for the Body
Here are some of the potential benefits of vitamin A for the body:
1. Maintain eye health
Launch Healthline, the vital role of vitamin A serves to maintain eye health.
This vitamin is needed to convert light entering the eye into electrical signals that are sent to the brain.
Lack of vitamin A can cause night blindness or difficulty seeing at night.
In addition, vitamin A can also prevent vision problems as you age.
2. Reducing the risk of cancer
illustration of cancer newsThe benefits of vitamin A for the body that should not be missed is to prevent a number of cancers.
Cancer can occur when the body’s cells grow abnormally and out of control.
Vitamin A plays a role in supporting healthy cell growth.
Observational studies show that consuming a diet rich in vitamin A can reduce the risk of several types of cancer.
These include Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as cancers of the cervix, lung and bladder.
Also read: 10 Benefits of Vitamin D for the Body
3. Maintain endurance
Another function of vitamin A is to maintain the immune system.
Vitamin A plays an important role in helping the production of white blood cells.
White blood cells protect the body from infection by fighting against bacteria, viruses, or other harmful pathogens.
4. Reducing the risk of acne
Another use of vitamin A is to help reduce the risk of acne.
Acne is a skin problem related to chronic inflammation.
Acne can occur because the sebaceous glands are clogged with dead skin cells and oil.
Vitamin A deficiency can increase the risk of developing acne.
This condition is triggered by excess keratin protein in the hair follicles.
This can cause the removal of dead skin cells is blocked by the hair follicles.
Also read: Sources of Vitamin A: Food, Vegetables and Fruits
5. Supporting bone health
Spine illustrationOne of the benefits of vitamin A for the body is to support bone health.
Not only calcium and vitamin D, the body also needs vitamin A to support bone growth.
Research shows that people who are deficient in vitamin A are more at risk of fractures.
6. Maintain reproductive health
The function of vitamin A that is no less important is to maintain reproductive health.
Research shows that vitamin A deficiency inhibits sperm development, reduces egg quality and affects fertilization.
Things to note, pregnant women should not consume too much vitamin A rich intake because it can be dangerous for the fetus.
Also read: 13 Types of Vitamins to Keep the Body Healthy
In order for optimal body performance, everyone is advised to meet their daily vitamin A needs.
One of them is by eating foods that contain lots of vitamin A.
Foods that contain retinol vitamin A include milk, eggs, meat, cheese, liver and fish oil.
There are also types of beta-carotene found in plant products such as brightly colored vegetables and fruits.
Foods containing this type of vitamin A include cantaloupe, apricots, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and green vegetables.
Avoid carelessly taking vitamin A supplements without a doctor’s supervision.
