Why We Need Vitamin A: Mom Was Right

I had an epiphany while talking to Mom today. You never see any information about the dangers of eating too much salt (that’s most definitely a discussion for another day). I didn’t learn about it in college, or from all those unsolicited magazines that are mailed to my house, or even from that progressive doctor who taught me about antioxidants. I learned about the dangers of salt from Mom..and Mom, learned about the dangers of salt from her Mother’s doctor. Ever since that day, about 35 years ago, Mom drastically reduced the amount of salt she cooks with and consumes. Let me quickly mention that before my Grandmother passed away she no longer had diabetes or high blood pressure. Her health improved 100% because she changed her diet (According to her… against her will).

Before the anti-salt revolution occurred, Mom was still an extremely healthy cook. We rarely ate fast food, and frozen and processed foods were not a regular part of our diet. If you happened to be in the kitchen while she was cooking, she would talk about the benefits of the vegetables she was preparing. “Carrots are good for your eyes. The doctor would always say that”, Mom would say.

It’s true. Because I am personally interested in aging healthily and anti-aging products, there is a lot of online chatter about Vitamin A, and Vitamin A is a key element in anti-aging products. It is also known to slow down aging related night blindess and vision decline. Vitamin A is found in carrots.

Also:

1. Beta Carotene, a form of Vitamin A found in carrots may help prevent certain types of cancer.
2. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant. It helps your body create the white blood cells needed to remove free-radicals in your body that form disease or illness.
3. Vitamin A is essential for reproductive health and necessary for the healthy development of babies during pregnancy.
4. All of our cells need Vitamin A for proper growth and development. This includes hair and skin as well.
5. It is important to take the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A, don’t consume too much, then it becomes toxic. A common problem with supplements.
6. Vitamin A, although available as a vitamin supplement, is best obtained from plant-based food. Red, Yellow and Green Leafy Vegetables, eggs and cod liver oil all contain vitamin A.

So to recap, eat foods with vitamin A, and you’ll look young, be able to see well and you’ll have a strong immune system. I found all of the information in this article from Mom, Google (I found this), Web MD and Mom.

Love, Aunt Krissy