Vegan Nutrition 101: Vitamin A
Posted September 7, 2007 at 03:00 PM by James Flesher
Section: His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Vegetarian / Vegan
Like all vitamins, vitamin A is a non-caloric molecule without which our bodies could not function properly. Like it’s fellow fat soluble vitamins D, E and K, vitamin A is absorbed with fats and oils in the intestine, and is stored in our liver fatty tissues until it is needed. (Vitamin C and B vitamins must be consumed daily for optimal health as they are water soluble and thus excreted constantly in urine.) Because of this, vitamins A, D, E and K can be absent from our diets for weeks and, in some cases, even months before we experience compromised health. However, vitamin A is abundant in many vegan foods, and there is no reason to wait weeks or even days to get a healthy serving.
Vitamin A has three active forms in the body. Active vitamin A, like other nutrients such as active vitamin D and cholesterol, is found only in animal sources. However, beta carotene, abundant in some of nature’s healthiest plant foods, is converted to these active forms by our liver. Nearly everybody knows that vitamin A is essential to healthy vision and skin, but did you know that not just the skin but ALL epithelial tissue such as that lining your organs depends on vitamin A for cell differentiation and maturing? In a deficiency state these tissues can thicken and dry, leading to such varied issues as blindness or respiratory and vaginal infections. Our skin and internal linings are our first lines of defense against infection, and emerging research is exploring vitamin A’s role in regulating genes that produce protein for immune defense. Don’t let vitamin C take all of the credit; A is just as important for warding off bugs!
When you think of vitamin A, you may think first of carrots or other orange fruits and vegetables. In fact, a half cup of cooked carrots or sweet potatoes each provide over 100% of your daily vitamin A; sweet potatoes get bonus points for contributing almost 20% of your daily potassium. Orange fruits such as mango and apricots also add vitamin A, contributing nearly 30% and 15% respectively. However, many people may not realize that dark leafy greens like spinach are also Vitamin A all stars. The same way that we don’t see orange leaves until the green of summer fades, beta carotene is there all along, hiding beneath the green. A half cup of cooked spinach provides over 40% of you days vitamin A. One more surprising addition to the family: dandelion greens. These bitter greens make an interesting addition to a salad, and they are known to help settle a queasy stomach.
Research sources and more information: [picture]