Home | Site Map | Contact Us| Reference
 |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Vitamin A
What foods provide vitamin A?
Preformed vitamin A is found in animal foods such as whole eggs, whole milk and liver.
Most fat free milk and dried nonfat milk solids sold in the US are fortified with vitamin A to replace the vitamin A lost when the fat is removed (17). Fortified foods such as fortified breakfast cereals also provide vitamin A. Provitamin A carotenoids are abundant in darkly colored fruits and vegetables. Tables 4 and 5 at the end of this document list animal sources of vitamin A and a variety of plant sources of provitamin A carotenoids (18).
It is important for you to regularly eat foods that provide vitamin A or beta-carotene even though vitamin A is stored in the liver (2). Stored vitamin A will help meet needs when intake of provitamin A carotenoids or preformed vitamin A is low (19, 20).
What is the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin A for children and adults?
The latest recommendations for vitamin A are given in the Dietary Reference Intakes developed by the Institute of Medicine.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) is the umbrella term for a group of reference values used for planning and assessing diets for healthy people.
One of those references values, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), is the average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97-98%) healthy individuals in each age and gender group (1).
RDAs for vitamin A are listed as Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE) to account for the different activities of retinol and provitamin A carotenoids. In the table below, RDAs are also listed in International Units (IU) because food and some supplement labels list vitamin A content in International Units (1 RAE in micrograms (ug) = 3.3 IU). The 2001 RDAs for adults and children (21) in ug RAE and IUs are:
Table 1: Recommended Dietary Allowances for vitamin A in micrograms (ug) Retinol Activitiy Equivalents (RAE) and International Units (IUs) for children and adults
| Age (years) | Children | Men | Women | Pregnancy | Lactation |
| 1-3 | 300 ug or 1000 IU | ||||
| 4-8 | 400 ug or 1333 IU | ||||
| 9-13 | 600 ug or 2000 IU | x | x | x | |
| 14-18 | 900 ug or 3000 IU |
700 ug or 2330 IU |
750 ug or 2500 IU |
1200 ug or 4000 IU |
|
| 19 + | 900 ug or 3000 IU |
700 ug or 2330 IU |
770 ug or 2565 IU |
1300 ug or 4335 IU |
Table 2: Adequate Intake for vitamin A in micrograms (ug) and International Units (IU) for infants (21)
There is insufficient information to establish a RDA for vitamin A for infants. An adequate intake (AI) has been established that is based on the amount of vitamin A consumed by healthy infants who are fed breast milk (21).
| Age (months) | Males and Females |
| 0 to 6 | 400 ug or 1330 IU |
| 7 to 12 | 500 ug or 1665 IU |
Results of two national surveys, the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III 1988-91) (1, 21) and the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII 1994) (1, 22) suggested that dietary intakes of some Americans do not meet recommended levels for vitamin A. These surveys highlight the importance of encouraging all Americans to include dietary sources of vitamin A in their daily diets.
There is no RDA for beta-carotene or other provitamin A carotenoids. The Institute of Medicine report suggests that consuming 3 to 6 mg of beta-carotene daily will maintain plasma beta-carotene blood levels in the range associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases (1). A diet that provides five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day and includes some dark green and leafy vegetables and deep yellow or orange fruits should provide recommended amounts of beta-carotene.
