What Is Vitamin A: Your Complete Guide

Roxanne Griggs

Public Health Nutritionist (ANutr) / Posted on

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that our bodies need every day. We can find it naturally in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, such as eggs, whole milk, and butter. But lots of us prefer to increase their intake of this important vitamin with supplements.

What Is Vitamin A?

This vitamin is actually a group of nutritional compounds that include:

Retinol
Retinal
Beta Carotene

These compounds are powerful antioxidants that help to fight free radicals and protect our cells against oxidative damage. Its benefits on our health make it a popular supplement, appearing in many multivitamins. But what are the benefits of vitamin A?

What Benefits Does It Have?

When you were younger you might have been told that eating carrots is good for your eyesight. That wasn’t an old wives tale, it’s really true. Carrots, along with other yellow and orange fruits and vegetables like peppers, oranges and squashes, are high in vitamin A.

Sometimes known as retinol, vitamin A is great for your eyesight – particularly your night vision – and the general health of your eyes. But this vitamin isn’t just great for your eyes, though. It plays an important role in cell development and division. That means it contributes to keeping your skin, bones and teeth healthy.

So Vitamin A has benefits on our: