Vitamin A Explained: Sources, Forms And Label Terms

What the name covers

Vitamin A is the name of a vitamin, but it is really a family label. It covers a group of related compounds found in foods, some made by animals and some made from plant pigments. In plain terms, it is a nutrient that people get from what they eat, and it also appears as an ingredient in supplements.

The letter A is simply the first in a lettering system that scientists used in the early twentieth century when vitamins were being discovered one at a time. The system stuck, which is why vitamins still carry single letters today.

Two kinds of food sources

It helps to know that foods deliver this vitamin in two ways. Animal foods contain it in a ready-made form. Plants contain orange, yellow and red pigments that belong to the same family of precursors, which is why these plant pigments are called provitamin forms.

Because of this split, the vitamin turns up on two very different shopping lists. Here are the common examples from each.

• Animal sources: eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and liver
• Fish sources: some oily fish and fish liver products
• Orange vegetables: carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash
• Leafy greens: spinach, kale, collard greens
• Orange fruits: mangoes, apricots, cantaloupe
• Red peppers and tomatoes

Why orange foods are so often mentioned

Ask a cook where to find this vitamin and the answer is nearly always a color. Orange vegetables, such as carrots and sweet potatoes, are the standard example, because the same pigments that color them are the plant forms that go into the vitamin family.

Green vegetables belong in the picture too. In leafy greens the same pigments are present but hidden behind green chlorophyll, much as the yellow of lutein sits behind the green of kale. A plate that mixes orange, green and red is a pleasant way to cover many sources at once.

Reading the units on a label

Vitamin A is one of the more confusing lines on a Supplement Facts panel, because of its units. You may find micrograms followed by the letters RAE, which stands for retinol activity equivalents. This is a way of putting the different forms on one common scale. Older labels may show IU, or international units, which is a different scale.

Some labels also show the percentage of the Daily Value next to the line. That percentage is simply a reference figure printed on the panel. If two products show different units, the best approach is to compare the units on each bottle rather than the raw numbers.

Many labels add the source form in brackets, so you may find a short descriptive phrase after the words Vitamin A. That phrase tells you which compound the manufacturer used.

Where it appears in RetinaClear

RetinaClear lists Vitamin A among its eight named ingredients, alongside Bilberry Extract, Lutein, Zeaxanthin, Astaxanthin, Vitamin C, Zinc and Ginkgo Biloba. The exact line, with its units and serving information, is printed in the Supplement Facts panel on the bottle.

The brand describes the product as a dietary supplement in capsule form, 60 capsules per bottle. The suggested use is one capsule twice daily with a full glass of water, preferably on an empty stomach, or as the label directs. A 60-day money-back guarantee applies, and the purchase is one-time with no subscription.

A quick tip for anyone comparing two bottles: units are not interchangeable. Micrograms and milligrams are different sizes, and IU is a separate scale altogether. The panel always states the unit right beside the ingredient name, so make it a habit to look there first.

Vitamin A also appears in everyday fortified foods, such as some milks and breakfast cereals, where the ingredient list names it too. Reading those lines is good practice for reading supplement panels, because the vocabulary is the same.

Practical label habits

Reading supplement labels is a skill, and it gets easier with practice. A few habits make it quick.

First, find the serving size. Second, read the ingredient lines that apply to that serving. Third, check the units, since they differ between ingredients. Fourth, look at the other ingredients line to learn what else is in the capsule, such as the capsule shell itself. Finally, find the manufacturer details and the best-by date.

If you keep more than one product on the shelf, it can help to take a quick look at each label whenever you open a new bottle. Labels are updated from time to time, and the bottle in your hand is always the best reference.

Pair that habit with a routine you enjoy: a morning glass of water, a walk after dinner, and a plate with orange, green and red on it. Simple, steady and easy to repeat.

Another way to learn the vocabulary is to read the label on a carton of milk or a box of cereal at home. You will often find vitamin names printed there with percentages beside them. Once you recognize how those lines are built, the Supplement Facts panel on a bottle looks familiar rather than technical.

Remember that the panel describes a serving, and a serving can be more than one capsule. On the RetinaClear bottle, the serving size line tells you how many capsules the printed figures refer to, so read that line first.