Food Sources Of Vitamin A And Provitamin A Carotenes

by Reuben Chow

Foods rich in provitamin A carotenes

Listed below are some foods high in provitamin A.

Beta-carotene (100% activity)

* Green plants
* Carrots
* Squash
* Sweet potatoes
* Apricots
* Spinach
* Green peppers

Alpha-carotene (50-54% activity)

* Green plants
* Carrots
* Squash
* Corn
* Green peppers
* Potatoes
* Apples
* Peaches
* Watermelons

Gamma-carotene (42-50% activity)

* Carrots
* Corn
* Sweet potatoes
* Tomatoes
* Apricots
* Watermelons

Beta-zeacarotene (20-40% activity)

* Corn
* Tomatoes
* Cherries
* Yeast

Cryptoxanthin (50-60% activity)

* Corn
* Green peppers
* Apples
* Lemons
* Oranges
* Apricots
* Persimmons
* Papayas
* Paprika
* Poultry

Beta-apo-8′-carotenal (72% activity)

* Green plants
* Citrus fruits

Beta-apo-12′-carotenal (120% activity)

* Alfalfa meal

Vitamin A supplements

Vitamin A supplements could be helpful for health conditions such as AIDS, dry eyes (topical application, using eye drops) night blindness as well as respiratory tract infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. They could also help with viral infections and measles. In addition, they could be used to help treat acne and other skin conditions.

However, it must be noted that excessive supplementation with high doses of vitamin A can have detrimental health effects (e.g. over 50,000 IU for many months). It is thus advisable that any high-dose vitamin A therapy or regime be supervised by a nutrition-oriented health practitioner.

Beta-carotene, on the other hand, exhibits no known toxicity.

See next page for the references used.

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