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.
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.