Tip #10 - Micronutrient Series #1 - Vitamin A

So... I've decided to stop giving tips which might be considered helpful in becoming eating disordered, because such individuals do not need tips, and I do not want to be responsible for anther person developing such habits (though I'm not sure that a normal person can become eating disordered, I know from experience that EDs can morph themselves, or be triggered in people who are borderline).

Instead, I will continue posting useful information under this heading which will hopefully help eating disordered and 'normal' people alike to make better choices about what they choose to put into their bodies... because as I've discussed before... a calorie is not simply a calorie. EVERY bite we take is an opportunity to improve our body's condition, and a key to successful dieting regardless of how extreme you are doing it is to avoid empty calories at all cost. (yay for orthorexia!)

For me... my quest is to stay as safe and healthy as I can while plummeting down the size/weight charts... which means I track everything I eat and make sure I'm getting at least a fair amount of what I 'should be' (except carbs and fats...). So... let's talk about micro-nutrients for the next 30 or so of these posts lol... First on the list is Vitamin A.... The picture in this post gives you some basic information... here is some more detail....

Where it comes from:

Eggs, Liver and milk primarily, though some cartenoids can be synthesized into Retinoids (vitamin A). Bellow is a list of foods and their content :D According to one source, vitamin A is not as plentiful in plant sources as once thought, so please take the chart bellow with a grain of salt :D

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=106&tname=nutrient

RDA:

Life stage group	RDA Adequate intakes (AI*) μg/day	Upper limit μg/day
Infants 0–6 months 7–12 months	400* 500*	600 600
Children 1–3 years 4–8 years	300 400	600 900
Males 9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years	600 900 900	1700 2800 3000
Females 9–13 years 14–18 years 19 – >70 years	600 700 700	1700 2800 3000
Pregnancy <19 years 19 – >50 years	750 770	2800 3000
Lactation <19 years 19 – >50 years	1200 1300	2800 3000

Toxicity: 

Consuming too much of this vitamin is a bad thing, as it is fat soluble and cannot be easily passed through the system. So, try to stay within the RDA range :D

Deficiency:
Deficiency is rare in developed nations, at least among people who eat well... but here is what can happen if you don't get enough Vitamin A.

• Night vision may decrease (significantly)
• Cateracts may develop
• your skin may get goose-bumpy all the time (ingrown hairs)
• immune system may suffer (difficulty in fighting off viruses)

Interactions:

If your diet is deficient in protien, zinc or dietary fat ( :o oh dear... I fail here I'm sure...) your body will have difficulty absorbing it.


How Cooking effects it? (i.e. is raw > cooked?) 

It doesn't change the levels in animal sources. In plant sources, cooking quickly... like... steaming and stuff helps a lot with making it more available. In fact, this is one of the few nutrients (when taken from tomatoes) where canned > Fresh/Frozen! 

For more information on Vitamin A, please check out the following links.


http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=106

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601623