Vitamin A: What It Means for Your Health
Vitamin A (retinol) is a fat-soluble vitamin crucial for maintaining healthy vision, skin, immune function, and reproduction. It exists in two forms: preformed vitamin A (retinol, from animal sources) and provitamin A (beta-carotene, from plant sources). Your body stores vitamin A in the liver. It plays a key role in cell differentiation, making it important for growth and development.
Reference Range
Reference ranges may vary between laboratories, age groups, and sexes. The values shown are general adult reference ranges. Always compare your results to the specific range provided by your testing laboratory.
What Is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A (retinol) is a fat-soluble vitamin crucial for maintaining healthy vision, skin, immune function, and reproduction. It exists in two forms: preformed vitamin A (retinol, from animal sources) and provitamin A (beta-carotene, from plant sources). Your body stores vitamin A in the liver. It plays a key role in cell differentiation, making it important for growth and development.
Commonly included in:
What Does High Vitamin A Mean?
Excess vitamin A (hypervitaminosis A) can cause liver toxicity, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, bone pain, and birth defects during pregnancy. Chronic toxicity usually results from excessive supplementation. Unlike beta-carotene, preformed vitamin A (retinol) has a narrow safety margin.
What Does Low Vitamin A Mean?
Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness, dry eyes (xerophthalmia), increased susceptibility to infections, dry skin, and poor wound healing. It is a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness in developing countries. Risk factors include malnutrition, malabsorption conditions, and liver disease.
Related Biomarkers in Vitamins
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This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Reference ranges may vary between laboratories. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for interpretation of your blood test results and before making any health decisions.