Vitamin A Food Sources

Vitamin A is an important nutrient for the human body since it can improve eyesight, promote a healthy immune system and maintain bone health. While Vitamin A can be consumed through nutritional supplements, a number of foods naturally contain Vitamin A.

Types

• Vitamin A can be found in two main food sources: animal protein and plants. Retinol is the processed form of Vitamin A found in animal protein, while beta carotene is the raw form found in plants.

Liver

• The liver is responsible for Vitamin A storage in the body. Because of this, liver is a food source high in Vitamin A.

Carrots

• Carrots have the highest Vitamin A concentration of all vegetables. A deficiency in Vitamin A can affect the eyes, which is why carrots are said to be beneficial to vision.

Spinach

• Spinach, both raw and cooked, contains a significant amount of Vitamin A. One cup of boiled spinach has more than 200 percentof the daily recommended value of Vitamin A.

Dangers

• Consuming too many vitamin A food sources is dangerous since the body automatically stores all the Vitamin A that enters the body. High levels of Vitamin A are toxic and can cause liver damage, vomiting and birth defects.