Vitamin A, the most important nutrient for the eyes
Good eyesight and healthy eyes should never be taken for granted. For this reason, it is essential to commit every day to keeping your eyes healthy by practicing good eating habits. Some diseases, such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, can be avoided or mitigated by eating healthy foods rich in vitamins useful for the eyes. The protective role that vitamin A (retinol) has for eye health should not be underestimated, with general benefits for the whole body. Let’s find out in the article what vitamin A is for, its role in eye health and which foods contain it.
A key nutrient for eye health
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that all humans need and plays a vital role in having great eyesight, a healthy immune system, growth and reproduction.
It is a fat-soluble nutrient found in the animals and plants we eat and is important for overall human health. One of the many roles that retinol plays in the body is maintaining healthy vision. It helps prevent childhood blindness and is believed to slow age-related macular degeneration.
Vitamin A exists in two different forms: provitamin A carotenoids and preformed vitamin A (retinol). The first is present in plants. The second is found in the flesh.
Preformed vitamin A is considered the active version of the vitamin because it is assimilated as is. The carotenoids of provitamin A, on the other hand, are converted into vitamin A in the body. They are naturally present in plants as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin.
The role of vitamin A
Vitamin A plays a role in the production of rhodopsin. The latter present in the retina of the eye, is a highly sensitive pigment to light and therefore useful in low-light environments. Essentially, it helps you see better in the dark. This explains why people with vitamin A deficiencies suffer from night blindness, a condition characterized by the inability to see properly in low-light environments. This photopigment, which is found in the rostrate cells of the retina, is particularly useful for allowing our eyes to see at night.
Although it is quite rare in modern society due to a sufficient diet and nutrient intake, vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children, with an estimated 250,000-500,000 children going blind each year worldwide.
Retinol can prevent blindness in childhood, as it plays a vital role in eye development. Some studies show that while it keeps your eyes healthy and can avoid future complications, taking the vitamin is not directly related to improving myopia. Taking more vitamin A does not relieve existing eye disorders. However, it is advisable to stick to the recommended intake, because a vitamin A deficiency always leads to a worsening of vision.
What does retinol do in the body?
In addition to maintaining healthy eyesight, retinol plays an important role in many processes that take place in our bodies. These include:
- Growth and development of the fetus: it helps to keep the reproductive system healthy and facilitates the growth of the fetus in the different stages of development.
- Skin health: It can prevent the overproduction of keratin in hair follicles, which is known to cause skin disorders such as acne.
- Immune system health: intervenes in the production of white blood cells, the first line of defense against pathogens in the body.
The most important benefit of vitamin A is the maintenance of eye health. It is involved in the production of a pigment that is located in the retina and is responsible for the perception of low light. As a result, one of the telltale signs of a vitamin A deficiency is night blindness.
Vitamin A is a fundamental nutrient in the early stages of life, especially for eyesight. Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in childhood. Many children with childhood blindness show dramatic improvements after adding higher doses of vitamin A to their diet.
What foods contain this vitamin?
Foods of animal and plant origin provide us with different types of vitamin A. The type that is immediately assimilated by the body is known as preformed vitamin A or retinol. Excellent sources of retinol are the following:
- Eggs
- Fatty fish
- Cheese
- Milk
- Yogurt
- Spreads (low fat)
- Liver
Liver is an incredible source of vitamin A, but it should be consumed with caution. Pregnant women, in particular, should avoid it, as well as liver-based products, such as pâté.
Vitamin A is also present in abundance in the form of beta-carotene.
The main sources of beta-carotene are as follows:
- green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach);
- red, orange and yellow vegetables (carrots, red and yellow peppers);
- sweet potatoes;
- yellow fruit (mango, apricots).
The recommended daily allowance for vitamin A is 700 mcg for men and 600 mcg for women.
Nutrition is important for eye health. Most people get all the vitamin A they need from their daily diet, but there are also other ways to get the right amount of vitamin A into the body when there aren’t enough food sources.
