Vitamin A is essential for maintaining your vision, immune response and skin and cell strength, which is your body's first line of defense against infection. It also assists in gene transcription. The best way to get this important nutrient in your diet, is by consuming foods and drinks that provide alpha-carotene and beta-carotene. These substances, called carotenoids, are converted directly into vitamin A.
Beta-carotene is responsible for the yellow and orange pigment of vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes. In addition to being a precursor of vitamin A, beta-carotene is an anti-oxidant associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Food Sources
As a rule, look for orange and yellow vegetables, which are rich sources of beta-carotene. The exception to that rule is that the chlorophyll in the leaves of some green vegetables hides the yellow-orange pigment. A top source of beta-carotene is pumpkin. One cup of canned pumpkin has 17 mg, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. You'll even get 7.4 mg from one slice of pumpkin pie. Other rich sources, delivering 13 to 13.8 mg of beta-carotene, include one medium baked sweet potato and 1 cup of frozen, cooked spinach or cooked carrots. Cooked kale, collards and turnip greens have 10.6 to 11.6 mg per cup, while the same serving of winter squash and one medium raw carrot provide 5.1 to 5.7 mg. One cup of cantaloupe has 3.2 mg.
Drink Sources
Drinks that are good sources of beta-carotene are limited to juices made from orange and yellow vegetables or fruits. Carrot juice is a good source, with 8 oz. providing 22 mg. The same serving of other juices has a significantly lower amount. Vegetable juice cocktails and tomato juice have 2 mg, freshly squeezed orange juice has 0.08 mg, and orange juice made from a frozen concentrate has 0.04 mg of beta-carotene.
Considerations
Dietary beta-carotene is absorbed better during digestion if it's eaten with fat in a meal. Chopping and cooking the vegetables also increase the absorption of carotenoids in the intestine.
Supplement Warnings
Beta-carotene supplements are a safe way to get extra vitamin A. However, they may increase your risk of lung cancer if you smoke. A study reported In the July 2008 issue of the journal "Cancer" found that a high dose of beta-carotene in supplement form was significantly associated with an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers.
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