Vitamin A is essential for your well-being and overall health. The human body simply cannot make vitamin A so you have to get sufficient vitamins from your diet or via a multivitamin supplement. It is an essential nutrient to help improve immune function, healthy vision, healthy skin, reproductive health, growth and development. But, how do you get enough vitamin A into your day? There are several ways you can do so. One of the first and most important ways you can do it is through a sufficient diet.
CARROTS
Carrots are an easy vegetable to incorporate into various meals throughout your day. Theyβre high in vitamin A which makes them the perfect vegetable to add to your diet. They are low in calories and they are a great option to replace crackers and biscuits for dips, making them a healthy snack. Not only can they help you manage your weight but also ensure that you get enough vitamin A each day.
SWEET POTATO
Sweet potatoes are a delicious vegetable that, when baked in their skin, can provide just over 1,400 micrograms of vitamin A into your diet. Not only is sweet potato high in vitamin A but itβs also a form of beta carotene which may help to protect you against colon cancer and prostate cancer. Just like carrots, they are also low in calories and contain no fat which means they are aΒ great food to add to various meals throughout the day. A simple and easy dinner or lunch could be to bake a sweet potato in the skin with a side salad and add a source of protein (such as lean meat). Not only will this meal improve your vitamin A levels, but it will taste great, too.Β
For a healthy swap, instead of potato fries, swap them for sweet potato fries. This is especially useful if you are struggling to incorporate sweet potato into your daily meals.
RED CAPSICUM
If you are looking to boost your levels of vitamin A in your day, head for the red capsicum next time youβre at the supermarket. Half a cup of red capsicum can give you almost half of what you need for a full day. Itβs easy to add red capsicum into stir-fries, salads and even a bolognaise dish or lasagne. If you finely dice your red capsicum, you hardly notice that theyβre in your meal but youβre still getting all of the added benefits of eating red capsicum. If you are pregnant, add a little bit more than half a cup to your daily diet as it will help with the growth and development of your baby.
SPINACH
When it comes to vitamin A, there are two types of this vitamin. The first type is called preformed Vitamin A which you can find in meat, poultry, dairy and fish. This type of vitamin A goes into your body and is ready to use. The other type of vitamin A is called provitamin A, which you normally get from certain vegetables and fruits. Your body has to process this type of vitamin A before it can be used by your system. You can find the second type of vitamin A in spinach. Spinach is great for adding to salads and burgers. Or, gently cook it, add it to your morning toast with some grilled mushrooms to make a very quick and easy, but nutritious, breakfast. Spinach is highly versatile and offers a number of benefits including boosting your vitamin A levels.
If you lead a busy lifestyle and you donβt think youβre going to be able to get enough vitamin A into your day through your diet, you may want to supplement your diet with a multivitamin. A daily multivitamin helps you to reach your daily mineral and vitamin needs when you might not be able to through a standard diet. If youβd like more information about improving your diet or whether you need to increase your vitamin A levels, always be sure to seek medical advice from your doctor.