Top 15 Vitamin A Foods

by John Staughton (BASc, BFA) last updated -

Eating vitamin A foods is an excellent way to boost your overall health and protect against chronic diseases.

Vitamin A is a general term for a number of important water-soluble vitamins, as well as some provitamins, such as beta-carotene. While retinol is the source of vitamin A found in animal tissues, various carotenes can be found in vegetables, fruits, and other food, which can then be converted into retinol within the body. [1]

Having enough vitamin A in your diet is important for immune system health, as well as your vision, skin, and respiratory health. Vitamin A deficiencies are also very dangerous for pregnant mothers, so eating enough vitamin A food is critical no matter who you are! [2]

Best Vitamin A Foods

The best vitamin A foods include carrots, beef liver, kale, winter squash, broccoli, mustard greens, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, mangoes, grapefruit juice, and turkey liver, among others.

A plate full of vitamin A rich foods

Vitamin A rich foods include carrots, broccoli, spinach, milk and more. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Carrots

Eating just one medium-sized carrot gives you more than 40% of your vitamin A for the day, largely in the form of beta-carotene.

Apricots

1 cup of apricots contains more than 60% of the vitamin A you need.

Beef Liver

100 grams of beef liver delivers more than 1,000% of your daily requirement of vitamin A. [3]

Spinach

A single cup of spinach has more than 15% of the vitamin A you require each day.

Mangoes

Eating a medium-sized mango delivers about 20% of the vitamin A recommended for each day.

Peaches

A medium peach has roughly 10% of your retinol requirement.

Sweet Potato

1 cup of sweet potatoes has more than 200% of the vitamin A you need, but it is in the form of provitamin A. [4]

Kale

One cup of kale delivers just under 100% of the retinol your body requires.

Broccoli

A cup of broccoli holds just over 10% of the vitamin A you need.

Cod Liver Oil

1 teaspoon of this oil delivers roughly 150% of your vitamin A for the day.

Butter

A single tablespoon delivers just over 10% of the retinol you need.

Eggs

1 large hardboiled egg has about 8% of your vitamin A needs for each day.

Whole Milk

Some whole milk is fortified with vitamin A, but naturally, a cup only holds about 2% of the vitamin A you need.

Mustard Greens

A single cup of these flavorful greens will grant you one-third of the retinol that you should be consuming each day. [5]

Winter Squash

There is more than 125% of your daily requirement for vitamin A in one cup of winter squash.

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About the Author

John Staughton is a traveling writer, editor, publisher and photographer with English and Integrative Biology degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana (USA). He co-founded the literary journal, Sheriff Nottingham, and now serves as the Content Director for Stain’d Arts, a non-profit based in Denver, Colorado. On a perpetual journey towards the idea of home, he uses words to educate, inspire, uplift and evolve.

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