The first symptoms of vitamin A deficiency are difficulty adapting to night vision, dry skin, dry hair, brittle nails and a decrease in the immune system, with the frequent onset of influenza and infections.
Vitamin A is found in foods such as pumpkin, carrot, papaya, egg yolk and liver, and an adult’s body is able to store up to 1 year of this vitamin in the liver, while in children this reserve lasts only a few weeks.
When faced with a deficiency, symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include:
Vitamin A deficiency is most common in malnourished, elderly people and in cases of chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
Because vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, diseases that affect the absorption of fats in the gut also end up reducing the absorption of vitamin A. Thus, problems such as cystic fibrosis, pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory bowel disease, colestase or cases of bariatric bypass in the small intestine increase the risk of causing vitamin A deficiency.
In addition, excessive alcohol consumption reduces the conversion of retinol into retinoic acid, which is the active form of vitamin A and performs its functions in the body, so alcoholism can also be the cause of the onset of symptoms of vitamin A deficiency.
The recommended amount of vitamin A per day varies with age, as shown below:
In general, a healthy and varied diet is sufficient to meet daily vitamin A recommendations, it is important to take vitamin A supplements only according to the advice of your doctor or nutritionist.