Imagine if taking a simple vitamin could save your life.  Now imagine if that same vitamin could not only save your life, but millions of others lives as well.

Well imagine no more, because according to researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration, people that supplement with vitamin A can drastically reduce their risk for measles and diarrhea.

Now, here in the states, a case of measles or diarrhea is hardly life threatening.  Inconvenient?  Yes.  Painful?  Absolutely.  But the chances of someone dying from either are pretty remote.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for millions of people in the developing world.  For them, a case of diarrhea is often a matter of life and death.

Due to poor hygiene and polluted water sources (i.e. the World Health Organization says approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide don’t have the means to drink from clean sources of water), diarrhea is a major health issue for billions of people in the developing world, particularly Southeast Asia and Africa.

Measles has a similarly dismal track record in the developing world.  In 1998, for instance, there was an estimated 164,000 deaths due to measles.  And, tragically, most of the deaths were boys and girls under the age of 5.

Much needs to be done to solve this health crisis fully.  In the meantime, researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration are investigating how natural supplementation can help.

After reviewing 43 clinical trails that analyzed over 200,000 boys and girls between 5 and 6 years old, Cochrane researchers found that vitamin A can reduce the risk of dying from measles and diarrhea by almost 25 percent.

While the brunt of a boy or girl’s risk of contracting measles or diarrhea results from poor hygiene and nutrition, vitamin A deficiency is another risk factor.  Therefore, researchers believe vitamin A supplementation is a promising first step in reducing the risk for these diseases, as well as its severity.

How Else Can Vitamin A Deficiency Affect Health?

As previously mentioned, few if any of us have to worry about diarrhea or measles impacting our long-term health.  And even though vitamin A is found in lots of our foods, it’s still possible to become deficient in vitamin A (I’ll go into more depth about this later).  Signs of such a deficiency include a reduced ability to bounce back from colds, difficulty seeing at night and poor complexion.

What’s considered “sufficient” levels of vitamin A depends on your gender and age.  For children between the ages of 4 and 6, for instance, the recommended daily allowance is about 2,500 IUs.  That level increases to 3,300 by the age of 7.  For men between 15 and 50+, the recommendation is 5,000 IUs per day.  Finally, for women between the ages of 15 and 50+, the RDA is 4,000 IUs per day.

To make sure you’re reaching these levels, be sure to include the following lesser-known vitamin A rich foods into your diet:

Paprika

Traditionally used in international cuisine, this “kicked-up” spice contains 74 percent of your daily-recommended vitamin A intake per tablespoon.  If you’re one who enjoys a spicy dish like tandoori chicken – a dish that calls for a lot of paprika – you’re more than halfway there.

Sweet Potatoes

President Obama is a big fan of sweet potatoes – which may explain why he doesn’t need to wear glasses!  Seriously, though, sweet potatoes are right up there with carrots in vitamin A content.  One medium-sized sweet potato contains 438 percent of your daily-recommended vitamin A intake.

Dried Herbs

Paprika isn’t the only spice loaded with vitamin A. Parsley – a chief ingredient of taboule – contains 204 percent of your daily-recommended intake per 100 grams.  Basil, a common accompaniment to virtually every Italian dish known to man – has 188 percent of your daily recommended intake per 100 grams.  Marjoram, dill and oregano similarly go a long way in satisfying your vitamin A requirement.

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe may be out of season, but keep it mind next summer for your vitamin A needs.  A medium-sized wedge of cantaloupe has about 50 percent of your daily-recommended intake for vitamin A.

Green Peas

Pass the peas, please.  This oh-so common accompaniment to the family dinner table contains about 68 percent of your daily-recommended vitamin A intake, or 160 grams per cup.

Other vitamin A rich foods to consider adding to your diet include papaya, mangoes, tomatoes, red bell peppers and oatmeal.

Who’s at Risk for Developing a Vitamin A Deficiency?

Again, while most people will never have to worry about vitamin A deficiency thanks to its pervasiveness, people with certain diseases and/or food inclinations increase their risk.

Vegetarians and vegans are a prime example of people at risk.  This fact may be surprising to some.  After all, tons of fruits and vegetables contain vitamin A, and these are the very foods that vegetarians literally live off of.

True, but because vegetarians and vegans cut meat, seafood and dairy out of their diet, their vitamin A sources are severely limited.  Thus, experts suggest vegetarians and vegans eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day instead of three servings as is traditionally recommended.

People with celiac disease are also at risk for vitamin A deficiency.

Broadly defined, celiac disease affects people who are unable to absorb gluten.  Gluten is found in LOTS of foods – pretty much any food that contains oats, whole wheat, corn meal, or anything else that even vaguely resembles or includes grains in its ingredients.

This absorption problem isn’t limited to gluten, though.   It also extends to vitamins and minerals.  In fact, it’s quite common for people with celiac disease to have deficiencies in many vitamins, vitamin A included.

People with celiac disease, therefore, need to be extra cautious about including plenty of vitamin-rich sources of foods into their diet, supplementing with multi-vitamins or vitamin-specific supplements (e.g. vitamin B, vitamin E, vitamin A) where necessary.  A quality vitamin A supplement should have at least 10,000 IUs.

Sources
healthaliciousness.com
nutraingredients.com
who.int
who.int
healthaliciousness.com
anyvitamins.com
ehow.com