5 Benefits of Vitamin A to Support Body Health
Vitamin A is a type of vitamin that is needed to support various body functions. Unfortunately, this vitamin cannot be produced by the body alone. You need to meet their needs through food or supplements. That way, you can get the many benefits of vitamin A. Anything?
Benefits of vitamin A.
Food sources of vitamin A are actually very abundant, ranging from fish, eggs, milk, mangoes, to broccoli. The reason is, the function of vitamin A is very important for the body.
That is why adults over 19 years of age need to meet the daily requirement of vitamin A as much 700 micrograms (mcg) per day. This figure is recommended by the Ministry of Health in the Daily Nutritional Needs Figures (RDA).
Here are the myriad of benefits that vitamin A offers to your body’s health.
1. Maintain eye health
One of the most popular benefits of vitamin A is maintaining eye health. This vitamin with another name retinol has an important task to convert the light captured by the eye into electrical impulses to the brain.
In fact, the antioxidant content in vitamin A is also needed for the formation of rhodopsin photoreceptors. Rhodopsin photoreceptors are photopigments found in retinal stem cells and help your eyes see at night.
That is why, a deficiency of vitamin A can lead to the risk of night blindness due to lack of the necessary photopigments of the eye. It is not surprising that many people with night blindness find it difficult to see due to decreased retinal function.
2. Strengthen the immune system
Not only does it maintain eye health, another function of vitamin A is to strengthen the immune system. Vitamin A plays an important role in maintaining the body’s natural defenses, including:
- improve digestive system function,
- helps the production and work of white blood cells,
- strengthen the antibody response, and
- keep fiber restoring mucosal surface function.
This means that a body that is deficient in vitamin A is susceptible to infection, both viruses and bacteria. As a result, you may fall sick more easily and the healing process will take longer.
3. Supports fetal growth
Both a deficiency and an excess of vitamin A can cause birth defects. Even so, the retinol acid content in vitamin A is necessary during fetal development.
https://hellosehat.com/kehessen/kandungan/vitamin-prenatal-saat-hamil-apakah-memang-perlu/
This is because this fat-soluble vitamin is good for supporting embryo development during pregnancy. Therefore, the need for vitamin A in pregnant women needs to be met to get benefits in the form of:
- complement the fetal body structures, such as the heart, kidneys, and eyes,
- reduce the risk of chronic lung disease in premature infants, and
- prevent disruption of organ function in the fetus.
We recommend that you meet the needs of this vitamin in moderation, not less or more, which can actually endanger the health of the body.
4. Helps treat acne
Thanks to the antioxidant properties of vitamin A, the cells in the body are protected from free radical damage. The benefits of this one vitamin A even help slow down the aging of cells so that the skin looks younger.
In addition, vitamin A also plays an important role in reducing the speed at which skin cells are released. This has the potential to reduce clogged pores and acne because vitamin A keeps keratin levels balanced.
This other finding regarding the efficacy of vitamin A is also proven by the research published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The study reports that isotretinoin, a type of retinoid, can treat severe acne.
5. Maintain healthy bones
The types of vitamins that are needed most by the bones are vitamin D and calcium. However, vitamin A actually offers the same properties for your bone health. Why is that?
Vitamin A is a vitamin that plays an important role in bone development. The function of vitamin A is often associated with severe bone conditions.
This was supported by research from International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Experts in the study reported that participants who were deficient in vitamins were at risk of fractures.
These findings are compared with people who can meet their vitamin A requirements well. Even so, the excess beta carotene present in vitamin A also has the potential to worsen bone fractures.
6. Helps cope with measles
Measles is a disease that often occurs in children and can cause death. About half of all deaths from measles occur in Africa, but the disease can occur in other developing countries.
https://hellosehat.com/nutrisi/fakta-gizi/cara-memilih-multivitamin/
One of the main risk factors for measles is vitamin A deficiency. For this reason, WHO recommends an oral dose of vitamin A (200,000 IU) for two days for children over 1 year of age. This is especially true for children who are deficient in vitamin A.
Treatment with vitamin A is done to reduce the risk of blindness and death in children due to measles. The reason is, vitamin A provides benefits, namely maintaining the cornea and epithelial cell surface which is proven to be good for eye health in measles patients.
7. Increase the production of hemoglobin
In addition to consuming foods rich in iron, you can also increase the production of red blood cells (hemoglobin) with vitamin A. This is because a lack of vitamin A can trigger iron metabolism disorders.
According to research from the Indonesian Nutritionist Association, vitamin A deficiency in school children is at risk of anemia. However, this can be overcome with supplements or consumption of vitamin A sources because they can increase the hemoglobin concentration.
In fact, the combination of vitamin A supplementation with iron has also been shown to have a greater effect on hemoglobin concentration.
Risk of excess vitamin A.
Even though vitamin A offers a myriad of health benefits, you still need to pay attention to your daily intake. The reason is, excessive consumption or use of vitamin A can trigger disturbing health problems, such as:
- dizzy,
- nausea,
- headache,
- skin irritation,
- liver damage,
- joint and bone pain, up to
- Dead.
Therefore, always pay attention to your vitamin A intake so that the body gets a balanced nutrition. When in doubt, it’s best to consult with your doctor to understand which solution is right for you.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
