Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for the body, which is commonly used in even ordinary family meals. So what is vitamin A? What are the effects and how is vitamin A supplementation for science and reasonableness? Let's find out with Bloganchoi through the article below.
What is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is an important micronutrient that performs many functions in the body. This is a fat-soluble vitamin and exists in many different forms, not just a single substance: exists in foods of animal origin as retinol, and in plants as carotenes (provitamins). A).
The source of vitamin A: abundant in liver, egg yolk, butter, milk, cheese, water spinach, water spinach, collard greens, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, mangoes, etc.
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What does vitamin A do?
Although compared to protein, powdered sugar, etc., the amount of vitamin A the body needs is not too much, but it plays an extremely important role in maintaining and ensuring the function of certain organs and organ systems:
- Visual acuity: Involved in the vision function of the eye in low light conditions. When lacking, the eye's ability to see in low light is impaired, especially when it is dark, causing "night blindness".
- Protects the epithelium: Necessary for the integrity protection of the corneal epithelium of the eye, the epithelial tissues under the skin, the trachea, the salivary glands, the small intestine, the testes, etc. When vitamin A is deficient, the epithelium and mucosal damage, damage to the cornea of the eye leading to blindness, dry skin, easy keratinization, reduced resistance, creating conditions for bacteria to invade.
- Immunity: increase the body's resistance, improve immune function. Vitamin A deficiency makes the body less resistant to disease, more susceptible to infections and a higher risk of death.
- Growth: Plays an important role in the normal growth and development of children. Children lacking vitamin A will grow slowly, stunted.
Vitamin A has many implications for improving public health:
- Sufficient vitamin A supplementation in children with vitamin A deficiency reduced mortality by 23%.
- Reducing the mortality rate in children with measles, limiting corneal complications.
- Carotenoid or vitamin A supplementation reduces the risk of maternal mortality.
- Reduces anemia.
Harm of vitamin A deficiency or excess
Many people still mistakenly believe that only a lack of vitamin A will cause harm, while in excess, it will be automatically eliminated by the body and completely harmless. But no, with vitamin A, both excess or deficiency cause certain health effects.
Effects of vitamin A deficiency:
- Children are stunted, stunted, and develop abnormally.
- Decreased resistance to diseases, increased risk of infections, bacterial infections, especially gastrointestinal, respiratory infections, measles. Severe cases can lead to a high risk of death.
- Occurrence of eye lesions, not treated promptly can cause blindness.
- Appearance of clinical manifestations of vitamin A deficiency: night blindness, bito streaks, corneal dryness, corneal molluscum contagiosum, corneal scarring due to dry eyes, damage to the fundus due to dry eyes.
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Poisoning due to excess vitamin A:
- Acute poisoning: occurs when taking very high doses (adults > 1,500,000 UI/day, children > 300,000 UI/day). Poisoning usually appears 4-6 hours after taking the drug, with manifestations of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, irritability, diarrhea, convulsions, delirium.
- Chronic poisoning: occurs when using doses of more than 100,000 UI/day for 10-15 days, with manifestations such as fatigue, irritation, digestive disorders, hepatomegaly, enlarged spleen, skin discoloration, cracking, shedding. bleeding hair, increased calcium, edema, children can increase intracranial pressure, tinnitus, stop growing long bones... For pregnant women, prolonged use can cause teratogenicity.
- Liver toxicity: Taking too much vitamin A causes liver toxicity, depending on the dose can lead to cirrhosis. Regular intake of vitamin A in large doses (>25,000 units/day) can cause chronic toxicity and liver damage (occurs with 15,000-40,000 IU/day intake for one year, but higher doses may cause toxicity). toxic within a few months). The extent of damage is more or less dependent on the dose and duration of use.
Supplement vitamin A scientifically
Whether excess or deficiency of vitamin A is not good for health, so it is necessary to supplement it with enough and control accordingly.
Although each individual has different body characteristics, location and ability to absorb and metabolize chemicals, and therefore the amount of vitamin needed to supplement cannot be completely fixed. However, for certain groups of people, the differences can vary within a certain range and the recommended table of needs can still be applied to the vast majority of cases.
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Where is vitamin A found?
- Taken from foods of animal origin: meat, fish, shrimp, liver, eggs, ... or plants: water spinach, lettuce, water spinach, lettuce, amaranth, green onions, shallots, herbs , fruits such as gac, carrots, ripe fruits such as papaya, mango...
- Supplement in the diet with more oil and fat, because vitamin A is fat-soluble, helping to absorb better.
- Breastfeeding is the best source of vitamin A for a baby's development.
Subject groups are susceptible to vitamin A deficiency
- Children under 3 years old: because fast growing children need a lot of vitamin A, at this age due to changes in feeding regime (period of complementary feeding, weaning) and susceptibility to infections, there is a risk of vitamin A deficiency. very high.
- Children under 5 years of age: suffer from measles, acute respiratory infections, persistent diarrhea and severe malnutrition and are therefore at high risk of vitamin A deficiency.
- Breastfeeding mothers: especially in the first year, if vitamin A is deficient, the milk will lack vitamin A, leading to vitamin A deficiency in young children. Babies who are not breastfed are at higher risk of vitamin A deficiency.
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Appropriate dosage of Vitamin A supplements
- For high-risk groups to receive vitamin A periodically, usually every 6 months.
- Target audience: children 6-36 months old (can be extended to 60 months old) and mothers within one month of giving birth.
- Additional regimen: Children 6-36 months: take 200,000 IU capsules (international units) twice a year (for children under 12 months give 100,000 IU capsules each time).
- Children with dry eyes need to be treated quickly and promptly. All cases from night blindness, dry conjunctivitis, Bitot's streak to dry corneal ulcer are treated urgently (according to WHO protocol): Immediately: give 200,000 IU of vitamin A. The next day : continue to take 200,000 IU of vitamin A. One week later: continue to take 200,000 IU of vitamin A. Children under 12 months take half the upper dose (100 000 IU of vitamin A each time).
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With the above article, hopefully, it has brought useful information so that readers can somewhat understand more about vitamin A as well as its effects and how to supplement it in a scientific and reasonable way. Don't forget to follow our Health section to update more useful new information!
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