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Nutrition
 
Is eating carrots really good for the eyes?
It is known that  one (1) average sized carrot contains twice Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, which is  very good for your eyes.
 
 If you don't like carrots, don't worry?
 
Vitamin A
 
How vitamin A helps your eyes?
Vitamin A prevents night blindness. If Vitamin A deficiency causing night blindness isn't corrected, then  it can lead to xerophthalmia, with dryness in the eyes, corneal ulcers and swollen eyelids & untreated xerophthalmia can lead to blindness.
 
In fact, vitamin A deficiency is the leading preventable cause of blindness in developing countries.
Vitamin A also prevents cataracts from forming and may have a role in preventing blindness from macular degeneration.
 

How much vitamin A do you need?

The RDA (recommended daily allowance)

for males age 11+ is 1,000 Retinol Equivalents (RE)

for females age 11+ is 800 RE.

Vitamin A is also measured in International Units (IU):

1 RE = 10 IU for plant products    and

1 RE = 3.3 IU for animal products.
 
Does smoking or drinking alcohol affects Vitamin A?
If you smoke or drink, plan on taking in extra vitamin A, because tobacco keeps your body from absorbing it and drinking depletes what you already have in your body.
 

 
 
What are the sources of vitamin A?
You can get vitamin A from two types of food sources:
  1. Animal products: that contain vitamin A (such as liver or butter)
  2. Plant products : that contain carotene (you've probably heard of beta-carotene), which your body converts into vitamin A.
Foods containing carotene are usually yellow/orange or leafy and green.
Some foods with high vitamin A values:
Cod liver oil Liver, beef Liver, chicken ,Carrot ,Sweet potato ,Butternut squash ,Red pepper ,Mango,green leafy vegetables
 
You know that cooking can destroy vitamin A?
Cooking can change the values, as heat will destroy vitamin A and beta-carotene in foods. Also, if you don't pick up fresh food, select frozen rather than canned, as canning strips away much more of the vitamin A in food.
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