What is vitamin A?

Vitamin A is an essential vitamin for vision, skin health, bone formation, immune function, embryonic development and reproduction. The body is unable to produce its own vitamin A but it is found in many dietary sources. Retinol is the most common active form of vitamin A and is only found in animal products including cheese, eggs, oily fish, dairy and organ meat such as liver. The antioxidant form of vitamin A, carotenoids, is found in plant-based products such as carrots, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Vitamin A deficiency is most common in pregnant women, preterm infants, people living in developing countries and people with malabsorption conditions such as Crohn’s disease. Inadequate levels of vitamin A typically first impair night vision. Consumption of high levels of vitamin A may also affect your health including weaker bones, skin irritation, dizziness, headaches and death.

Why take the test?

This test measures the level of vitamin A in the blood and can be used to detect vitamin A deficiency or toxicity.