Both animal and plant foods have vitamin A activity. Retinol, also called preformed vitamin A, is the natural form found in animals. Carotenoids, found in plants, are compounds that the body can convert to vitamin A.
Liver is the single best food source of vitamin A. However, many experts recommend eating liver only once or twice a month because of the toxic substances it can contain. Environmental pollutants tend to congregate in an animal's liver. Egg yolk, cheese, whole milk, butter, fortified skim milk, and margarine are also good sources of vitamin A. Be careful, though, as all these foods -- except fortified skim milk -- are also high in total fat and saturated fat, and all except margarine are high in cholesterol. Red palm oil, used for cooking in many tropical countries, and fish liver oils taken as supplements are also rich in vitamin A. One tablespoon of cod liver oil contains more than 12,000 international units (IU), more than twice the daily recommended intake for adults.
This chart will help you find foods that are a good source of vitamin A.
| Food | Quantity
|
Vitamin A Content International Units (IU)
|
Retinol Equivalents (RE)
|
| Baked sweet potatoes, peeled
|
1 medium | 28,805 | 2,881 |
| Pumpkin, canned | 1/2 cup | 27,018 | 2,702 |
| Sweet potatoes, candied | 1 medium | 25,188 | 2,519 |
| Beef liver, cooked | 2 ounces | 20,230 | 6,130 |
| Spinach, canned, drained | 1 cup | 18,781 | 1,878 |
| Sweet potatoes, canned | 1 cup | 15,966 | 1,597 |
| Spinach, cooked, fresh or frozen | 1 cup | 14,790 | 1,479 |
| Carrot, raw | 1 medium | 12,767 | 1,277 |
| Cantaloupe | 1/2 medium | 12,688 | 1,269 |
| Peas and carrots, frozen (boiled, drained) | 1 cup | 12,418 | 1,242 |
Advertisement
