20 Foods High in Provitamin A
HEALTH, 8 May 2017
Dr. Atli Arnarson | Authority Nutrition – TRANSCEND Media Service
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an essential role in maintaining vision, body growth, immune function and reproductive health.
Getting adequate amounts of vitamin A from your diet should prevent the symptoms of deficiency, which include hair loss, skin problems, dry eyes, night blindness and increased susceptibility to infections.
Deficiency is a leading cause of blindness in developing countries. In contrast, most people in developed countries get enough vitamin A from their diet.
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 900 mcg for men, 700 mcg for women and 300–600 mcg for children and adolescents.
The RDA provides enough vitamin A for the vast majority of people.
Put simply, a single daily value (DV) of 900 mcg is used as a reference on nutrition labels in the U.S. and Canada.
This article lists 20 foods that are rich in vitamin A, plus an additional 20 fruits and vegetables rich in provitamin A (1).
10 Vegetables High in Provitamin A
Your body can produce vitamin A from carotenoids found in plants.
These carotenoids include beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, which are collectively known as provitamin A.
However, about 45 percent of people carry a genetic mutation that significantly reduces their ability to convert provitamin A into vitamin A (2, 3).
Depending on your genetics, the following vegetables might provide considerably less vitamin A than indicated.
- Sweet Potato (cooked)—204 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 1,836 mcg (204 percent DV)
100 grams: 1,043 mcg (116 percent DV)
- Winter Squash (cooked)—127 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 1,144 mcg (127 percent DV)
100 grams: 558 mcg (62 percent DV)
- Kale (cooked)—98 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 885 mcg (98 percent DV)
100 grams: 681 mcg (76 percent DV)
- Collards (cooked)—80 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 722 mcg (80 percent DV)
100 grams: 380 mcg (42 percent DV)
- Turnip Greens (cooked)—61 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 549 mcg (61 percent DV)
100 grams: 381 mcg (42 percent DV)
- Carrot (cooked)—44 percent DV per serving
1 medium carrot: 392 mcg (44 percent DV)
100 grams: 852 mcg (95 percent DV)
- Sweet Red Pepper (raw)—29 percent DV per serving
1 large pepper: 257 mcg (29 percent DV)
100 grams: 157 mcg (17 percent DV)
- Swiss Chard (raw)—16 percent DV per serving
1 leaf: 147 mcg (16 percent DV)
100 grams: 306 mcg (34 percent DV)
- Spinach (raw)—16 percent DV per serving
1 cup: 141 mcg (16 percent DV)
100 grams: 469 mcg (52 percent DV)
- Romaine Lettuce (raw)—14 percent DV per serving
1 large leaf: 122 mcg (14 percent DV)
100 grams: 436 mcg (48 percent DV)
10 Fruits High in Provitamin A
Provitamin A is generally more abundant in vegetables than fruits. But a few types of fruit provide good amounts, as shown below.
- Mango—20 percent DV per serving
1 medium mango: 181 mcg (20 percent DV)
100 grams: 54 mcg (6 percent DV)
- Cantaloupe—19 percent DV per serving
1 large wedge: 172 mcg (19 percent DV)
100 grams: 169 mcg (19 percent DV)
- Pink or Red Grapefruit—16 percent DV per serving
1 medium grapefruit: 143 mcg (16 percent DV)
100 grams: 58 mcg (6 percent DV)
- Watermelon—9 percent DV per serving
1 wedge: 80 mcg (9 percent DV)
100 grams: 28 mcg (3 percent DV)
- Papaya—8 percent DV per serving
1 small papaya: 74 mcg (8 percent DV)
100 grams: 47 mcg (5 percent DV)
- Apricot—4 percent DV per serving
1 medium apricot: 34 mcg (4 percent DV)
100 grams: 96 mcg (11 percent DV)
- Tangerine—3 percent DV per serving
1 medium tangerine: 30 mcg (3 percent DV)
100 grams: 34 mcg (4 percent DV)
- Nectarine—3 percent DV per serving
1 medium nectarine: 24 mcg (3 percent DV)
100 grams: 17 mcg (2 percent DV)
- Guava—2 percent DV per serving
1 medium guava: 17 mcg (2 percent DV)
100 grams: 31 mcg (3 percent DV)
- Passion Fruit—1 percent DV per serving
1 medium fruit: 12 mcg (1 percent DV)
100 grams: 64 mcg (7 percent DV)
How Do You Meet Your Vitamin A Requirements?
You can easily meet your requirements for vitamin A by regularly eating some of the foods listed in this article. Many foods also contain added vitamin A, including cereals, margarine and dairy products.
Since vitamin A is fat-soluble, it is more efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream when eaten with fat. Most animal-sourced foods that are rich in vitamin A are also high in fat, but the same doesn’t apply to most plant sources of provitamin A.
You can improve your absorption of provitamin A from plant sources by adding a dash of oil to your salad.
However, as mentioned above, some people have a genetic mutation that makes the conversion of provitamin A into vitamin A much less efficient (2, 3).
Because of this, vegans should take supplements or make sure to eat plenty of the fruits and vegetables listed above.
Fortunately, foods abundant in vitamin A are usually easy to come by and most are an excellent addition to a healthy diet.
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Reposted with permission from our media associate Authority Nutrition.
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