Vitamin A: Foods, Deficiency Symptoms & How Much You Need

What Does Vitamin A Do in the Body?

Vitamin A is involved in several important physiological processes.

• Maintaining normal vision and eye health
• Supporting normal immune function
• Maintaining healthy skin and epithelial tissues
• Supporting normal growth and development
• Supporting reproduction
• Contributing to normal cell function

Because vitamin A is fat-soluble, the body can store it. This is one reason both inadequate intake and excessive supplemental intake need to be considered.

Retinol vs Beta-Carotene: What’s the Difference?

One of the most common sources of confusion about vitamin A is that foods can provide it in different forms.

Retinol

Retinol is a form of preformed vitamin A. It is found in animal-derived foods such as liver, eggs and dairy products.

Because it is already in a form the body can use as vitamin A, it does not require conversion from a carotenoid precursor.

Beta-Carotene

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid found in many colourful plant foods. Your body can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A according to its needs.

Foods rich in beta-carotene include carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin and dark green leafy vegetables.

This means that beta-carotene and retinol are related, but they are not exactly the same thing.

What Foods Are High in Vitamin A?

Vitamin A can come from both animal and plant foods, although the form differs.

Animal Sources of Vitamin A

• Liver
• Egg yolk
• Milk
• Cheese
• Yoghurt
• Some fish and fish oils

Liver is particularly concentrated in preformed vitamin A, so more is not necessarily better.

Plant Sources of Provitamin A Carotenoids

• Sweet potato
• Carrots
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Kale and other dark leafy greens
• Broccoli
• Mango
• Apricots
• Red and orange capsicum

Eating a variety of colourful vegetables and fruit is a practical way to include carotenoids within your diet.

How Much Vitamin A Do You Need Per Day?

Australian Nutrient Reference Values recommend approximately 900 micrograms of retinol equivalents (RE) per day for adult men and 700 micrograms RE per day for adult women.

Requirements differ for children and during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Importantly, these dietary recommendations should not be interpreted as a reason to take an equivalent amount in supplemental retinol without considering your existing diet and individual circumstances.

What Are the Symptoms of Vitamin A Deficiency?

Vitamin A deficiency is uncommon in Australia, and symptoms should not be diagnosed from a checklist alone.

Recognised manifestations of vitamin A deficiency can include:

• Difficulty adjusting to low light or night blindness
• Dry-eye changes
• Changes affecting the skin and epithelial tissues

Severe or prolonged deficiency can cause significant eye problems and requires appropriate medical assessment.

If you are concerned about your vision or possible vitamin A deficiency, speak with your doctor rather than simply starting a high-dose vitamin A supplement.

Who Is More at Risk of Vitamin A Deficiency?

Because most Australians can obtain adequate vitamin A from a varied diet, low intake is not the only consideration.

Risk can be increased in people with conditions that affect digestion or the absorption of dietary fat, including certain gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic conditions.

Risk may also need consideration following some gastrointestinal surgeries or where diets are extremely restrictive.

This is why identifying the reason for a suspected deficiency matters more than simply adding another supplement.

Vitamin A and Eye Health

Vitamin A has an essential role in normal vision and helps maintain structures within the eye.

Difficulty seeing in low-light conditions can be an early manifestation of significant vitamin A deficiency.

However, changes in vision have many possible causes. New or persistent visual symptoms should be assessed appropriately rather than assumed to be nutritional.

Vitamin A and Skin Health

Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance and normal function of skin and epithelial tissues.

However, this does not mean that acne, dry skin or another skin condition automatically indicates vitamin A deficiency.

Skin health can be influenced by many factors including hormones, genetics, skincare, diet and underlying health conditions.

If skin concerns are persistent, learn more about our Skin Naturopath Brisbane approach.

Can Vegetarians and Vegans Get Enough Vitamin A?

Plant foods do not provide preformed retinol in the same way animal foods do, but many provide provitamin A carotenoids such as beta-carotene.

Sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin and dark leafy vegetables can therefore make important contributions to vitamin A intake in vegetarian and vegan diets.

Because carotenoids need to be converted into vitamin A, the overall quality and variety of the diet still matters.

Does Fat Help You Absorb Vitamin A?

Yes. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, and consuming carotenoid-rich vegetables as part of a meal containing dietary fat can support absorption.

For example, this might mean combining vegetables with foods such as:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Avocado
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Eggs

This is another reason we prefer looking at whole meals and overall dietary patterns rather than treating individual nutrients in isolation.

Can You Have Too Much Vitamin A?

Yes. Because preformed vitamin A is fat-soluble and can be stored by the body, excessive intake — particularly from supplements — can become harmful.

Excessive preformed vitamin A can cause adverse effects and, at sufficiently high or prolonged intakes, may affect the liver and other systems.

This is why vitamin A is very different from the idea that “if a little is good, more must be better.”

Vitamin A During Pregnancy

Vitamin A is required during pregnancy, but excessive preformed vitamin A is also a particular concern during pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding, do not start a high-dose vitamin A or retinol supplement without discussing it with an appropriate healthcare professional.

Remember that vitamin A may also be present in multivitamins, prenatal products and other supplements, so your total intake needs to be considered.

Do You Need a Vitamin A Supplement?

Most people do not need to automatically supplement vitamin A.

In Australia, vitamin A deficiency is relatively uncommon, and a varied diet can usually provide adequate amounts.

Supplementation may require consideration when there is a diagnosed deficiency, significant dietary restriction, an absorption problem or another specific clinical reason.

The appropriate approach depends on your diet, health history, medications, life stage and reason for considering supplementation.

Vitamin A Supplements vs Food

Food provides vitamin A or its precursors alongside many other nutrients.

For most people, building a nutrient-dense diet is therefore a better starting point than automatically reaching for an isolated high-dose supplement.

If you already take a multivitamin, prenatal vitamin, cod liver oil or other nutritional supplements, check whether they already contain vitamin A before adding another product.

Personalised Nutrition Support in Brisbane

If you’re worried about vitamin A — or find yourself taking multiple vitamins without really knowing whether you need them — looking at your whole diet can provide a much clearer picture.

At Morkare Natural Clinic, our clinical nutrition practitioners consider your usual food intake, symptoms, health history, dietary restrictions, medications, supplements and nutritional goals.

Rather than treating one vitamin in isolation, we look at how your overall nutrition fits together and where meaningful changes may actually be needed.

Learn more about our Clinical Nutritionist Brisbane service.

In-clinic consultations are available in Holland Park West, Brisbane, with telehealth consultations available Australia-wide.

Book a Clinical Nutrition Consultation