Where is Vitamin A found?
Vitamin A Absorption
28/04/2021
Food Industry and Allergies
27/06/2021Where is Vitamin A found?
There are two primary sources of ๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐.โฃ
โฃ
๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐, or ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ ๐:โฃ
- All mammals get two-thirds of carotenoids from beta carotenes.โฃ
- Yellow, red and green (leafy) vegetables (spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers)โฃ.
- Yellow fruit (mango, papaya and apricots)โฃ.
โฃ
๐๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐, or ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ต ๐:โฃ
- Cheeseโฃ
- Fortified low-fat spreadsโฃ
- Milk and yoghurtโฃ
- Eggsโฃ
- Oily fishโฃ
- Liver and liver products such as liver pรขtรฉ (don't eat more than once a week, and pregnant women should avoid them altogether)โฃ
Examples of low concentrations of Vit A (๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ % ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ).โฃ
โฃ
๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ:โฃ
- Peppers, sweet, red, raw, ยฝ cup (117/13)โฃ
- Mangos, raw, 1 whole (112/12)โฃ
Black-eyed peas, boiled, 1 cup (66/7)โฃ - Apricots, dried, 10 halves (63/7)โฃ
- Broccoli, boiled, ยฝ cup (60/7)โฃ
- Pistachio nuts, dry roasted, 1 ounce (4/0)โฃ
โฃ
๐๐ง๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ:โฃ
- Egg, hard-boiled, 1 large (75/8)โฃ
- Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces (59/7)โฃ
- Yoghurt, plain, low fat, 1 cup (32/4)โฃ
- Tuna, light, canned in oil, drained solids, 3 ounces (20/2)โฃ
Chicken, breast meat and skin, roasted, ยฝ breast (5/1)โฃ
โฃ
Though most get their Vit A from plant sources, in reality, its absorption is not great.โฃ
- When we eat beta carotenes, only ๐บ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ผ๐ถ% ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ.โฃ
- In contrast, between ๐พ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฟ๐ถ% of retinol from animal proteins will be absorbed.โฃ
โฃ
To make the matter a bit more complicated, ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐ค, ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ (conditions like abetalipoproteinemia) affect carotenoid absorption.โฃ
โฃ
๐๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ง๐จ๐ข๐๐ฌ are ๐ฑ๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.โฃ
- They are the reason for the bright red, yellow and orange colours you see in plenty of fruits, vegetables, algae and bacteria.โฃ
- Their importance is related to their ability to help absorb light so that photosynthesis can be done.โฃ
- They are also antioxidants.โฃ
ย
You can take supplements if you can't eat any of the above.
ย
As a bit of curiosity, the first description of the use of Vit A was by Egyptians, as they found it would cure "night blindness".
ย
