Overview

Vitamin A (retinol, retinoic acid) is a nutrient of import to vision, growth, prison cell sectionalization, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances that might protect your cells against the furnishings of free radicals — molecules produced when your trunk breaks down nutrient or is exposed to tobacco fume and radiation. Free radicals might play a part in heart illness, cancer and other diseases.

Vitamin A is constitute in many foods, such as spinach, dairy products and liver. Other sources are foods rich in beta-carotene, such every bit green leafy vegetables, carrots and cantaloupe. Your body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A.

As an oral supplement, vitamin A mainly benefits people who have a poor or express nutrition or who have a condition that increases the need for vitamin A, such equally pancreatic disease, eye disease or measles. If you lot have vitamin A for its antioxidant properties, keep in mind that the supplement might non offering the same benefits every bit naturally occurring antioxidants in food.

The recommended daily corporeality of vitamin A is 900 micrograms (mcg) for adult men and 700 mcg for adult women.

Evidence

Research on oral vitamin A for specific weather shows:

  • Acne. Large doses of oral vitamin A supplements don't appear to affect acne.
  • Age-related macular degeneration. A big clinical trial showed that people at loftier run a risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration reduced their risk of developing the condition by 25 percent by taking a specific combination of vitamins that included beta-carotene. It's not entirely articulate what role beta-carotene played.
  • Cancer. The association betwixt use of vitamin A supplements and reduced run a risk of lung, prostate and other types of cancer is unclear.
  • Measles. Vitamin A supplements are recommended for children with measles who are at an increased risk of vitamin A deficiency. Inquiry suggests that supplementation might reduce death due to measles.
  • Vitamin A deficiency. People who have depression levels of vitamin A appear to benefit most from vitamin A supplements. This kind of deficiency isn't common in the United States. Vitamin A deficiency causes anemia and dry out eyes.

Beyond use as an oral supplement, vitamin A is used in topical creams to reduce fine wrinkles, splotches and roughness and treat acne.

Our accept

Yellow light: Caution

Caution

A healthy and varied diet will provide most people with plenty vitamin A. If y'all're interested in the antioxidant properties of vitamin A, food sources are best. It's not clear if vitamin A supplements offering the same benefits as naturally occurring antioxidants in food. Likewise much vitamin A tin can be harmful and excess vitamin A during pregnancy has been linked to nascency defects.

Rubber and side effects

Too much vitamin A tin exist harmful. Even a single big dose — over 200,000 mcg — tin can cause:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Vertigo
  • Blurry vision

Taking more than x,000 mcg a day of oral vitamin A supplements long term can cause:

  • Bone thinning
  • Liver damage
  • Headache
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea
  • Skin irritation
  • Pain in the joints and bone
  • Nascency defects

If y'all are or might become pregnant, talk to your doctor before taking vitamin A. Backlog apply of vitamin A during pregnancy has been linked to birth defects.

Interactions

Possible interactions include:

  • Anticoagulants. Oral use of vitamin A supplements while taking these medications used to prevent blood clots might increase your risk of bleeding.
  • Bexarotene (Targretin). Taking vitamin A supplements while using this topical cancer drug increases the take chances of the drug'south side effects, such as itchy, dry skin.
  • Hepatotoxic drugs. Taking high doses of vitamin A supplements can crusade liver damage. Combining high doses of vitamin A supplements with other drugs that can impairment the liver could increment the risk of liver illness.
  • Orlistat (Alli, Xenical). This weight-loss drug tin can decrease the absorption of food sources of vitamin A. Your dr. might suggest that you take a multivitamin with vitamin A and beta-carotene while taking this medication.
  • Retinoids. Don't use vitamin A supplements and these oral prescription drugs at the same time. This could increase the risk of loftier vitamin A claret levels.

Become the latest wellness information from Mayo Clinic's experts.

Sign up for gratuitous, and stay up to engagement on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing wellness.

To provide you with the well-nigh relevant and helpful information, and understand which data is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other data nosotros have virtually y'all. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected wellness information, we will care for all of that data as protected health data and will simply utilize or disclose that information equally ready forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the east-mail service.

Nov. 13, 2020