Health benefits of Vitamin A

 Functions in your body of Vitamin A

Vitamin A is essential for your health. It supports cell growth, immune function, fetal development, and vision.

Perhaps one of the best-known functions of vitamin A is its role in vision and eye health 

Retinal, the active form of vitamin A, combines with the protein opsin to form rhodopsin, a molecule necessary for color vision and low light vision 

It also helps protect and maintain the cornea, which is the outermost layer of your eye, and the conjunctiva, a thin membrane that covers the surface of your eye and the inside of your eyelids 

Additionally, vitamin A helps maintain surface tissues such as your skin, intestines, lungs, bladder, and inner ear.

It supports immune function by supporting the growth and distribution of T cells, a type of white blood cells that protect your body from infection 

Health benefits 

1. Potent antioxidant

Provitamin A carotenoids such as beta carotene, alpha carotene, and beta cryptoxanthin are precursors of vitamin A and have antioxidant properties.

Carotenoids protect your body from free radicals — highly reactive molecules that can harm your body by creating oxidative stress 

Oxidative stress has been linked to chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and cognitive decline.

2. Is good for eye health and muscular development

As mentioned above, vitamin A is essential to vision and eye health.

Adequate dietary intake of vitamin A helps protect against certain eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Studies show that higher blood levels of beta carotene, alpha carotene, and beta cryptoxanthin

3. May protect risk for certain cancers

Due to their antioxidant properties, carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables may protect against certain types of cancer 

For example, a study in more than 10,000 adults found that smokers with the highest blood levels of alpha carotene and beta cryptoxanthin had a 46% and 61% lower risk of dying from lung cancer, respectively, than nonsmokers with the lowest intake of these nutrients.

4. Importance for fertility and fetal development

Vitamin A is essential for both male and female reproduction because it plays a role in sperm and egg development.

It’s also critical for placental health, fetal tissue development and maintenance, and fetal growth.

5. Help Boosts your immune system

Vitamin A impacts immune health by stimulating responses that protect your body from illnesses and infections.

Vitamin A is involved in the creation of certain cells, including B cells and T cells, which play central roles in immune responses that guard against disease.