Vitamin A Deficiency
If someone is suffering from a Vitamin A deficiency, then they will suffer several problems in their body. Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that is vital to eye health, as well as cells in the lungs, intestines and skin. It is also necessary in the growth of a human embryo, because without Vitamin A, the fetus will not develop.
Sources of Vitamin A
You can prevent a Vitamin A deficiency by eating foods rich in Vitamin A. Some of these include eggs, liver, milk, butter, and some types of fish like tuna, sardines and herring. Another way to get Vitamin A is through consuming Beta-carotene, which changes into full Vitamin A once it gets into the body. Sources of beta-carotene include vegetables that are colored dark green, orange, and yellow. Some examples of these include carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach.
Fortified foods with Vitamin A added are also a good source of Vitamin A and if people eat enough of them, it can help prevent Vitamin A deficiency. Some foods that commonly have added Vitamin A include sugar, cereals, milk, margarine, and oils.
What are the symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency?
If a person doesn’t get enough Vitamin A into their system, then they will suffer from a Vitamin A deficiency. Studies show that humans need at least a minimum of 1 mg for men and 0.8 mg per day for women. One of the very first things that happen if you don’t get enough is night blindness. In severe cases, a person who has a Vitamin A deficiency will end up going totally blind. It can also cause someone not to be able to fight infections, and to have dry skin or broken fingernails.
What causes Vitamin A deficiency?
In places that are developed, like the U.S., someone suffering from Vitamin A deficiency is usually also suffering from some form of disease that makes it impossible to absorb enough Vitamin A. This may include alcoholism, cystic fibrosis, or a failure of the flow of bile (cholestasis). Iron deficiency too can cause problems with absorbing enough Vitamin A.
Vitamin A deficiency can also happen in areas like Southeast Asia due to the fact that a large part of their diet includes polished rice, which has no Vitamin A. Examples of impoverished locations where people may not get the required amounts of Vitamin A include Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia. Vitamin A deficiency is thought to cause the death of more than 670,000 children under the age of five all over the globe.
Treatment of Vitamin A deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency can be treated by ingesting supplements of Vitamin A until the symptoms are relieved. Then, if someone either keeps taking the daily dose in a supplement, or eats appropriate amounts of Vitamin A or beta-carotene rich foods.
The bottom line is that in order to prevent Vitamin A deficiency you need to eat the proper foods or take a vitamin A supplement or daily multi-vitamin. It is easy to get enough of this vital vitamin in the U.S., and in most developed nations, so most of the time you won’t see Vitamin A deficiency unless it is due to other problems as mentioned above like disease or deficiency caused by alcohol.
