Vitamin A Flashcards
What are the two types of vitamin A?
Retinol and carotene
What are the antioxidant Vitamins?
A (carotene), C and E
What are the fat-soluble vitamins?
A (retinol), D, E and K
What is retinol needed for?
The production of visual purple which enables good vision in dim light. It is also needed for normal growth and development in children.
What is carotene needed for?
It’s an antioxidant which helps prevent free radical damage to cells and therefore reduce risk of CHD and some cancers.
Name 4 sources of retinol.
Cheese, eggs, oily fish, whole milk, fortified margarine (flora), liver
Name 4 sources of carotene.
Sweet potato, carrots, green leafy veg (broccoli, cabbage) and orange coloured fruits (apricots, nectarines).
What are the effects of a deficiency of retinol?
Leads to poor dim light vision (night blindness) and with extreme, prolonged deficiency total blindness will result.
What are the effects of a deficiency of carotene?
Because it is an antioxidant vitamin, a deficiency could potentially increase the risk of serious diseases such as CHD and some cancers.
What are the effects of an excess intake of retinol?
It can be toxic in large amounts and may cause birth defects, miscarriage or still birth if consumed in high quantities by pregnant women.
What should pregnant women not eat (source of retinol)?
Liver or its products.
What can carotene be converted into?
It can be converted into a retinol equivalent that does the same job as retinol.
