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Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin and also known as Retinol . This vitamin is essential in maintaining healthy vision as well as developing and maintenance of healthy skin, hair and mucous membrane. Sources of Vitamin A are broken down into two areas. They are Animal Source and Vegetable Source. Animal source products are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Vegetable source vitamin A is also known as beta-carotene. Of the two sources available, animal source is considered the preferred method of obtaining the daily recommended amount of vitamin A. The reason for this is animal source vitamin A is preformed and stored by the body whereas carotene is water soluable and not stored by the body.

Prime examples of Animal Source based foods containing high concentrations of vitamin A are beef, eggs, whole milk, yogurt, cheese, butter and fish oils. The type of vitamin A in animal foods is preformed and is fat-soluable and stored by the body. Eating animal foods is the best way to get your daily recommended amount of Vitamin A.
Some vegetable source products high in vitamin A include carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, apricots, broccoli, and squash. These vitamin A enriched vegetables contain no fat or cholesterol.

The daily recommended amount of vitamin A is 2,670 International Units (IU). If you are not obtaining enough vitamin A through your diet another source is through vitamin supplements. Supplements are available most commonly in pill form and can be purchased over the counter at your local drug store or grocery store.
Lack of key sources of vitamin A can lead to deficiency which can cause blindness, severe infections, and sickness. This lack of vitamin A is often found in children and in developing nations such as parts of Africa and Asia.

If you eat a balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables and exercise while limiting your intake of alcohol you should meet or exceed you recommended daily amount of vitamin A. People who are unable to see in the dark or have dry and dull eyes, kids with poor growth and people with skin problems will be most likely to benefit from taking vitamin A as a supplement. It is possible to take an overdose of vitamin A and this can cause fatigue, brittle bones, vomiting, headaches, hair loss, liver abnormalities, yellowing of the skin and cracking of the lips.

Learn more about this author, Bruce Gilbert.
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