What vitamin A specifically does for your eye.
Generally, vitamins are useful and very important to the body to perform various functions some which includes maintenance, detoxification and renewing of body cells. We shall be looking at vitamin A specifically. Vitamin A is a group of antioxidant compounds that play an important role in vision, bone growth and health of the immune system, they also help reduce the chances of bacterial and viral infection by making the eye, mucous membranes and skin surface to build effective barrier against bacterial and virus.
THERE ARE 2 TYPE OF VITAMIN A CLASSIFIED BASED ON THEIR SOURCE.
1. Animal Derived vitamin A – They are readily consumed by the body, sources included beef and chicken liver, whole milk and cheese.
2. Fruit derived vitamin A. – They are contained in colorful fruits and vegetables, it’s in the form of carotenoids, which are converted to retinol by the body when digestion occurs. Common source includes carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach.
IMPORTANCE OF VITAMIN A TO THE EYE.
○ It helps protect the eye surface (cornea), therefore improves vision.
○ Vitamin A eye drops are effective for the treatment of dry eyes.
○They are important for scotopic (low-light) vision and color vision therefore improves night vision.
○ Vitamin A in combination with other antioxidant vitamins decreases the risk of vision loss from macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis. (RP).
INADEQUACY OF VITAMIN A IN THE BODY CAN LEAD TO THE FOLLOWING;
● Night blindness – poor vision at night.
● lack of vitamin A can cause the eye surface to be very dry, leading to clouding of the front of the eye and corneal abnormalities.
● Vitamin A also is important for resistance to infection.
VITAMIN A SOURCES:
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Butternut Squash
• Dark Leafy Greens
• Fish Liver Oil
• Spices – Paprika, Red Pepper, Cayenne, Chili Powder
• Apricots
• Cantaloupe
• Eggs
• Milk
• Mangoes
As you can see, it is healthy to consume fruits especially Vitamin A, we advise you incorporate vitamin A into your diet for maximum benefit of vitamin A.
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