If you’re looking for healthy ways to improve your skin, vision, and more, one of the things professionals like Nu Image Medical who specialize in general wellness, will tell you is to consume a lot of Vitamin A foods. Vitamin A is one of the essential nutrients that helps the body function optimally. Aside from improving your skin and vision, vitamin A also aids growth and development and helps your organs to function properly.
Unfortunately, our bodies can’t produce this useful vitamin. Hence you must obtain Vitamin A from your diet. If you’re interested in knowing vitamin A foods that will help improve your skin, vision, and more, then keep on reading and adjust your diet accordingly.
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Types of Vitamin A
Generally, Vitamin A can be obtained from two main sources. You can either get the preformed vitamin A or the provitamin A. Preformed vitamin A is found in animal-based food sources like fish, meat, poultry, and dairy products. It can also come as retinol. Provitamin A, on the other hand, is found in plant-based foods like vegetables and fruits. They also come mainly as beta carotene.
Typically, vitamin A foods are soluble in fats; therefore, they are better absorbed when you add some fat to your diet. Below are some vitamin A foods you should include in your diet.
Carrot
Many people eat carrots, but only a few know of their many benefits. Carrots are versatile vegetables that are not only rich in vitamins A, C, and K but also potassium. When you eat a medium-sized carrot, you would have consumed about 45% of the daily vitamin A requirements. A cup of cooked carrots also has 1,329 mcg, which is 1.5 times above the daily value.
Beef Liver
Another rich source of vitamin A is animal livers. They’re rich in protein and other nutrients like vitamin B2, B12, copper, folate, choline, and copper. Animals also store their vitamin A in the liver, just like humans. If you eat a 3 oz serving of fried beef liver, you would have consumed 6,582 mcg of vitamin A, which is approximately 731% of the daily value. You can also get vitamin A from liver sausage and lamb liver.
Sweet Red Pepper
The vitamin A content of red pepper varies depending on the color. However, the most nutritious are the red and orange bell peppers. This is because of their high antioxidant content. A half cup of sweet red bell pepper contains about 19 calories and provides 117 mcg equating to 13% of the daily value. Red peppers are also rich in folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. So when next you fry your eggs, ensure you scramble bell peppers with them.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are not only delicious, but they are also beneficial to the body. They are high in fiber, low in calories, and have a low glycemic index that can help to control your blood sugar level and reduce insulin secretion. When you bake a whole sweet potato on its skin, you will get 1,403 mcg of vitamin A, which equates to 156% of the daily value. You can mix your salad with skin-baked sweet potato and a source of protein like tofu.
Tuna
Tuna is one of the best sources of preformed vitamin A. In addition to being rich in vitamin A, they are also rich in vitamin E, vitamin B12, selenium, biotin, magnesium, and other essential nutrients. A six-ounce filet gives 143% of the daily value with 1,287 mcg. You can also get vitamin A in other shellfish and fish like clams, mackerel, and eel.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash got its bright orange color from beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. You can also get similar vitamin A content in other winter squash like pumpkin, kabocha squash, acorn squash, and hubbard squash. For example, one cup of cooked butternut squash provides 1,144mcg, which is 127% of the daily value, and a cup of pumpkin contains twice the daily value of vitamin A.
Mango
When you eat a whole raw mango, you would have consumed about 12% of the daily value. Mangoes are not only delicious, but they are also rich in dietary fiber and antioxidants. Eating mangoes regularly can help to control blood sugar and also aid gut function. You can enjoy this delicious food by including it in your tropical fruit salad.
Generally, there are lots of options for you to get vitamin A values. As long as you are eating a balanced diet filled with varieties, it would be best if you met up with your body’s daily vitamin A requirements. Also, ensure you don’t overcook your foods to avoid reducing their vitamin A contents.
