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Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives 85 East Seventh Place, Suite 220, PO Box 64882 St. Paul, MN 55164-0882 651-201-5443 www.health.state.mn.us/obesity Nutrition: Vitamin A Vitamin A is a generic term for a large number of related compounds that promote healthy vision, bone growth, and the surface linings of the skin. It helps the immune system by creating the white blood cells that destroys harmful bacteria and viruses. One of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness. Severe deficiencies are not common in the United States but it can be found in individuals consuming excess alcohol, children living in poverty, and individuals with disorders of the intestines. Preformed Vitamin A at high levels can make you sick, cause birth defects, or death. It is possible to get too much vitamin A from eating large amounts of liver but in most cases toxicity is caused by taking excessive amounts of a preformed vitamin A supplement. Plant sources of vitamin A are not toxic even at high levels. Good Food Sources: • • • • • • • • • • • • Sweet potato Carrots Kale Spinach Cabbage Cantaloupe Apricots Romaine Lettuce Broccoli Milk Sweet peppers Liver (beef, poultry, and pork) A ½ cup of cooked vegetable provides more vitamin A than a ½ cup of the same vegetable raw because the cooked vegetable weighs more. Nutrition: Fats Fact Sheet – Page 2 Requirements across the Lifecycle: Life-stage Recommended Group Dietary Allowance Infants Tolerable Upper Intake (UL) 0-6 months 1,333 IU 7-12 months 1,667 IU Children 1-3 years 1,000 IU 4-8 years 1,333 IU Males 9-13 years 2,000 IU 14-18 years 3,000 IU 19-30 years 3,000 IU 31-50 years 3,000 IU 51-70 years 3,000 IU > 70 years 3,000 IU Females 9-13 years 2,000 IU 14-18 years 2,333 IU 19-30 years 2,333 IU 31-50 years 2,333 IU 51-70 years 2,333 IU > 70 years 2,333 IU Pregnancy </= 18 years 2,500 IU 19-30 years 2,567 IU 31-50 years 2,567 IU Lactation </= 18 years 4,000 IU 19-30 years 4,333 IU 31-50 years 4,333 IU 1,998 IU 1,998 IU Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin A are measured in micrograms but most food and supplement labels use International Units (IU). Adequate Intakes (AI) are used when there is not enough evidence to establish an RDA. Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) applies to healthy populations and is designed to prevent vitamin A toxicity. 1,998 IU 2,997 IU 5,661 IU 9,324 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 5,661 IU 9,342 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,324 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU 9,324 IU 9,990 IU 9,990 IU For more information Nutrition: http://www.health.state.mn.us/nutrition/ Overweight and Obesity Prevention: http://www.health.state.mn.us/obesity/ Updated June 2012 Nutrition: Fats Fact Sheet