The Benefits of Vitamin A

Vitamin A and Vision
Although many of us know that vitamin A is important for vision, most people don't know why. Vitamin A makes up the visual pigments in the eye. One of the earliest signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness - or the slow recovery of vision after flashes of bright lights at night. This occurs because there is an insufficient amount of retinal (vitamin A) available to regenerate the pigmentss bleached by the light.

Vitamin A and Skin
Vitamin A also plays a role in healthy skin. Both natural and synthetic forms of the vitamin, such as isotretinoin, are regularly used in the treatment of skin disorders including acne and psoriasis. Individuals undergoing retinoid, or vitamin A, therapy are monitored closely to avoid side effects of vitamin A toxicity such as abnormal blood lipid levels, liver toxicity, and birth defects.

Vitamin A and Other Potential Benefits
There are a number of alleged benefits of vitamin A supplements, but the scientific research to support such claims is preliminary, contradictory, or significantly lacking at this time. Examples of such uses include the treatment of breast cancer with a retinoid derivative called 4-hydroxyphenylretinamide and the use of vitamin A in skin creams to reduce or prevent wrinkling.