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Vitamin A

Nutrient

Needed for vision, immune function and steroidogenesis. Measured two ways in the food data, as retinol activity equivalents and as international units.

Relationships

3 connections

Vitamin A enhances absorption of

Dietary Fat

Forms the micelles that carry the fat-soluble vitamins across the gut wall. Without fat in the meal, A, D, E, K and the carotenoids largely pass through.

Vitamin A form of

Beta-Carotene

Plant pigment the body converts to retinol as needed. Conversion is inefficient and varies a lot between people, and it needs fat in the meal to be absorbed at all.

Retinol

Preformed vitamin A from animal foods. Ready to use, and the form that accumulates to toxicity if overdosed.

Beyond this page

Vitamin A also connects to 27 entries in the applied modules, covering supplements, compounds, hormones and food sources. Those carry the mechanism and the evidence tier behind each link, and they are part of client coaching.

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