With age comes changes to your need for certain vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A, an antioxidant vitamin, is equally important in the later years of life. Vitamin A serves many functions in the body, including maintaining eye health, epithelial tissue, cellular reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A is found in food in both its active form and its precursor form, beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is an anti-oxidant that may help you to age healthfully.
Antioxidants and Aging
An antioxidant is a vitamin that helps to mute the effects of free radical cells. These are cells that have been oxidized and may damage other cells. This damage can lead to cancer or other chronic disease. One theory of aging is called the free-radical theory. This idea states that damage occurring to cells from normal metabolic processes or pollution eventually begin to affect and damage the cells. Even more catastrophic is when damage to the DNA molecule occurs. In an attempt to neutralize the damage, your body cuts out the damaged DNA so there is no blueprint for that particular gene. This is called cross-linking damage and may be caused by free radicals and lead to the effects of aging. Beta-carotene, a substance that your body can turn into vitamin A, is an antioxidant that may be able to stop some of this damage.
Eye Health
Vitamin A is important for eye health at any age, but the elderly should be more aware of how this vitamin may affect their eyes. The cornea of your eye, the outermost portion that lays over the pupil, iris and lens, allows light to pass through, eventually resulting in sight. A lack of vitamin A can cause a condition known as dry eye syndrome, and older adults are at an increased risk of developing it. This can lead to a dry cornea, which causes a cloudy cover over it and can reduce vision or even cause blindness.
The Effects of Aging
The book, "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies" by Frances Sizer and Eleanor Whitney, states that vitamin A is one of the few vitamins that the body absorbs more with age. Interestingly, Sizer and Whitney report that some professionals may even recommend reducing the daily intake of vitamin A for the elderly. However, others suggest maintaining your intake to reap the benefits of this important vitamin.
Sources and Recommendations
Recommendations vary by gender. Adult females need 700 mcg of vitamin A per day, while men should get 900 mcg per day. There are two forms of vitamin A that you can consume. The active form, which is ingested directly as vitamin A, comes mainly from animal sources, including meat and dairy. Beta-carotene, which your body can absorb and convert to vitamin A, is found in fruits and vegetables.
References
- "Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies"; Frances Sizer and Eleanor Whitney; 2004.
- Rice University: Antioxidants and Free Radicals; 1996
- "Physical Dimensions of Aging" Waneen W. Spiriduso, Karen L. Francis and Priscilla G. MacRae; 2005
- PubMed Health: Dry Eye Syndrome; Daniel E. Bustos, MD, MS; November 2010
- Medline Plus: Vitamin A; Alison Evert, MS, RD, CDE; 2011
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