8 Ways Vitamin A Benefits Your Health

What are the benefits of Vitamin A?

1. Provides antioxidant effects
2. Protects against certain cancer
3. Aids in immunity
4. Reduces risk of advanced macular degeneration
5. Preserves night vision
6. Supports bone health
7. Promotes healthy reproduction
8. Decreases acne

Most of you know about vitamin C or E, but not many understand the importance of other nutrients such as vitamin A. But did you know that it has a vital role in growth, development, and cell function? It can be consumed through food and supplements such as the best barley grass products by Santé. If you’re curious about the many benefits of vitamin A and how they affect your health, keep on reading!

Provides Antioxidant Properties

If you’re exposed to ultraviolet radiation, tobacco smoke, pollution, and toxic chemicals, your body produces higher amounts of free radicals. These can damage your cells and cause aging and disease. What regulates these unstable atoms are the potent antioxidants in your body.

Fortunately, vitamin A is an antioxidant that can prevent cell damage. This is important because even though your body generates antioxidants, it is essential to get them from your diet in order to stay protected.

Protects Against Certain Cancer

Aside from protecting you from free radicals, vitamin A also has a vital role in your cells’ growth and development. Because of this, their influence on cancer risk is also of importance. This disease occurs when abnormal, old, and damaged cells divide and form tumors.

While a cure is still being researched by scientists, consumption of vitamin A is associated with a decreased risk of certain cancers that affect the lungs, bladders, and cervix. With more studies, it could have the potential to be used for the prevention of this disease.

Aids in Immunity

When it comes to diseases, your first line of defense is your immune system. That’s why if you want to prevent infection or get over colds faster, you need to prioritize your immunity. Because of the role of vitamin A in the production of your cells, it also encourages the growth of white blood cells.

These are the components of your blood that fight pathogens such as viruses and bacteria in your body. This might be the reason why individuals deficient in this vitamin are more prone to infection.

Reduces Risk of Advanced Macular Degeneration

Speaking of protection against diseases, vitamin A also has a role in your risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a type of eye disease. While the causes are being investigated by researchers, the consensus is that this condition occurs because of cell damage in the retina. This is the part of the eye that sends important information to your brain so you can see.

Cell damage to the retina is thought to be caused by oxidative stress. In a study, individuals who took an antioxidant supplement with vitamin A experienced a reduced risk of developing advanced AMD.

Preserves Night Vision

Aside from delaying the decline of eyesight as you age, vitamin A also has a tremendous role in your night vision. In your retina, there is a pigment called rhodopsin which is extremely sensitive to light.

This enables you to see in low-light conditions. Because vitamin A is needed before rhodopsin can be formed, deficiency can cause night blindness. With this condition, you might see normally during the daytime but your eyes struggle to adjust during low-light conditions.

Supports Bone Health

Deficiency in this vitamin doesn’t end with just night blindness alone. Because it has a major role in growth and development, your bones are also affected whenever your intake is not enough.

This is because it influences your osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which are cells responsible for building and breaking down bone. This might be the reason why having low levels of vitamin A is associated with a higher risk of fractures.

Promotes Healthy Reproduction

Aside from bone growth, one of the roles of vitamin A is in your reproductive system—whether you’re a man or a woman. This is because it has a role in the development of sperm and egg cells. It doesn’t end there because it also influences the formation of the fetus in pregnant women.

Vitamin A is an important nutrient that is involved in the formation of an unborn child’s skeleton and major organs such as the brain, heart, kidneys, eyes, lungs, and more. This doesn’t end after birth as an infant receives their daily intake of this vitamin A in their mother’s breast milk.

Decreases Acne

With these numerous benefits, you might think that the benefits of vitamin A have all been explored. But aside from the influence of this nutrient in your cells inside your body, it is also involved in the development and treatment of acne. This is the reason why dermatologists might recommend both oral and topical versions of vitamin A as medication.

That’s why if you’re deficient in vitamin A, you might increase your risk of developing acne. This is because your skin produces keratin in your hair follicles, which might block dead skin cells from shedding. As a result, you can gain more pimples.

Key Takeaway

Even though it is a lesser-known nutrient, vitamin A has many benefits for your body. Because it is involved in numerous cell processes, it affects your overall health—from fighting free radicals to preventing acne growth!

Fortunately, barley grass powder available in Santé’s products provides you with diverse nutrients—and vitamin A is one of them! If you want to support your overall health, you can do so with one sachet at a time of your favorite barley drink—whether it’s Santé Choco Barley or Fusion Coffee. If you’re interested, you can contact a Santé Business Owner near you or place your orders at the online store.