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Eat Those Carrots! The Benefits of Beta-Carotene and Vitamin A |
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Vitamin supplements are the hot topics that are discussed everywhere now. Magazines are filled with news articles about vitamin supplements and their benefits. Newspapers carry information regarding the vitamins and even in the Internet has endless discussions and articles about vitamins. The simple reason is that the vitamins are well, vital. However, there is one important vitamin that we will discuss here that is available in abundance through carrots, beta-carotene and vitamin A.
Vitamin A
This is one of the essential vitamins. Vitamin A and Beta-carotene are typically very easily confused. However, it's easier to remember that beta-carotene is the precursor of vitamin A. Vitamin A plays very important role in the immune system and overall health of a person. It also has antioxidant properties that can help to neutralize the free radicals that cause harm to an otherwise healthy person. These free radicals can lead to heart disease, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration and arthritis.
Vitamin A is very important for the formation of the healthy skin. Besides that the vitamin A is also essential for the health of the mucous membrane. The health of the mucous membrane is directly related to the health of the kidney, bladder, digestive tract, eyes, lungs, and reproductive system. The vitamin A plays important role in improving the immune system of the body. Vitamin A plays a very important role in maintaining healthy eyes and vision.
Vitamin A deficiency
The most well known symptom of a vitamin A deficiency is improper or impaired vision. The eyes can become dry and the vision will not be clear or will be blurry. This kind of deficiency can also lead to many different types of skin diseases such as psoriasis, or acme. Any of these deficiency related problems can typically be corrected by taking vitamin A supplements. However, a health care professional should always be consulted before making major changes in diet, including the addition of supplemental vitamins
The vitamin A is found abundantly in many everyday foods such as eggs, vegetables, fruits, and halibut. Fruits such as mangoes, apricot, nectarines, watermelon, and plums are rich in vitamin A and vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, potato, red pepper, peas, lettuce, chicory, broccoli, collard greens, turnips, squash and pumpkins are also good source of vitamin A.
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