Vitamin A is the first fat soluble vitamin to be found in nature.Is is an extremely useful vitamin the sources of it being, milk products, egg, fish liver oils, butter, kidney, sweet potato, green fruits. Apart from these, vitamin A can be found in plat pigments called carotene which can be said to be provitamins A.Upon digestion these are converted to vitamin A in epithermal cells. The two types of vitamin forms are retinol (A1) and dehydroretinol (A2). It is only found in the animal kingdom as ester with high fatty acid. Vitamin A is stored in liver. It is useful for maintenance of mucous membrane and epithermal cells which becomes dry and hardens in its absence. Kerotinization is the term used for the hardening process. It also regulates normal growth, protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism.

Deficiency

Its deficiency causes a lot of diseases in man including night blindness (Xerophthalmia) due to depletion of pigment called rhodopsin. Mostly this deficiency is observed in people in developing countries. In this disease the ability to see in the dark reduces to a great extent. Due to low creation of rhodopsin in the body, this occurs.Infections, abnormal bone growth and defective tooth formation are the other deficiencies. These deficiencies are common among children. World Health Organisation confirmed that deficiency is mainly in South Asian and African countries.While in the developed countries It is still uder control. Its deficiency can be classified as primary and secondary. Irregular intake of food is the main reason for primary deficiency. The secondary deficiency is caused due to chronic malabsoprtion of lipids.

Intake

The best form of intake of Vitamin A is in its natural form. Yet sometimes doctors prescribe vitamins to patients and children in oral form for quick recovery. It reduces rate of mortality in extreme cases. It can also be administered as vaccination. But it has to be taken in a regular dose. Fortification of food is also done in some regions to improve the quantity of VItamin A. So we should never neglect the benefits of Vitamins and Minerals as their deficiency will inhibit normal functioning of the body. In places where they are unavailable in normal form, they should be taken in the form of artificial capsules or vaccination. It is the duty of mothers to ensure adequate Vitamin A intake in their young children. Also pregnant women should take care so as not to neglect Vitamin intakes. There is no harm in taking excess of Vitamin A as confirmed by scientists.So to have a good and a healthy body we should take Vitamin A regularly in our diets in adequate amounts.