Vitamin A for eye health

Vitamin A is a well known fat soluble vitamin found in many supplements and foods. Vitamin A actually is a group of antioxidant compounds that play an important role in vision, bone growth and health of the immune system.

The vitamin exists in three major forms: retinal (the aldehyde isoform), retinol (the alcohol isoform), and retinoic acid (RA), which is the irreversibly oxidized form of retinol . As it relates to eyesight, vitamin A (also called all-trans-retinol) has been shown to be useful in helping with night vision.

Vitamin A is a precursor of rhodopsin, the photopigment found in rods within the retina of human eye that helps them to see at night. Without vitamin A, "night blindness" occurs.

Vitamin A is found in a variety of natural foods and the bioavailability of carotene in food is variable because the efficacy of metabolic processes that convert carotene into retinol varies from one person to another.

Vitamin A for eye health