Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for vision, immune function, and cell differentiation. The adult RDA is 900 µg RAE for men and 700 µg for women, with a tolerable upper limit of 3,000 µg for preformed retinol. It comes preformed from animal foods and as provitamin carotenoids from plants.
- Unit
- µg
- RDA (adult)
- 900 µg
- Upper limit
- 3000 µg
- Functions
- Vision, especially in low light (forming rhodopsin), Immune function, Cell growth and differentiation, Maintaining skin and epithelial tissues
- Food sources
- Liver, Sweet potato, Carrots, Spinach, Eggs, Dairy, Kale
- Deficiency
- Night blindness, xerophthalmia, impaired immunity, and increased infection risk; a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness worldwide.
- Excess
- Excess preformed vitamin A causes hypervitaminosis A: headache, liver damage, bone changes, and birth defects.
Richest foods
| Beef Liver, Cooked | Protein | 7744 mcg |
| Sweet Potato, Baked | Grain | 961 mcg |
| Sweet Potato, Baked in Skin | Vegetable | 961 mcg |
| Carrot, Cooked | Vegetable | 852 mcg |
| Carrot, Raw | Vegetable | 835 mcg |
| Butter, Salted | Dairy | 684 mcg |
| Kale, Cooked | Vegetable | 681 mcg |
| Spinach, Cooked | Vegetable | 524 mcg |
| Kale, Raw | Vegetable | 500 mcg |
| Spinach, Raw | Vegetable | 469 mcg |
| Egg Yolk, Raw | Egg | 381 mcg |
| Cream Cheese | Dairy | 308 mcg |
Amount per food's listed serving.