Vitamin A

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Vitamin A benefit

Vitamin A source

Overview

Food Sources

Recommendations

Side Effects

Vitamin A

Alternative Names:

Retinol; Carotenoids

Side Effects:

If you don't get enough vitamin A, you are more susceptible to infectious diseases and vision problems.

If you get too much vitamin A, you can become sick. Large doses of vitamin A can also cause birth defects. Acute vitamin A poisoning usually occurs when an adult takes several hundred thousand IU. Symptoms of chronic vitamin A poisoning may occur in adults who regularly take more than 25,000 IU a day. Babies and children are more sensitive and can become sick after taking smaller doses of vitamin A or vitamin A-containing products such as retinol (found in skin creams).

See Hypervitaminosis A.

Increased amounts of beta-carotene can turn the color of skin to yellow or orange. The skin color returns to normal once the increased intake of beta-carotene is reduced.

References:

Ford MD, Clinical Toxicology. 1st ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2001:297

Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2001.

Review Date: 10/27/2004
Reviewed By: Kevin Pho, M.D., Attending, Internal Medicine, Boston VA Medical Center, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.