Vitamin A is like a superhero for your body, helping with many important tasks. It’s found in both plant-based and animal-based foods, and it’s crucial for things like keeping your immune system strong, preventing certain cancers, and even promoting healthy bones. But one of its most vital roles is in keeping your eyes healthy.
When you don’t get enough vitamin A, it can cause some serious problems for your vision. The World Health Organization warns that one of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness. This means you might have trouble seeing in low light conditions, like at night or in dimly lit rooms. But that’s just the beginning.
If left untreated, vitamin A deficiency can actually lead to blindness. It can make your cornea, which is the clear covering over your eye, become very dry. This damages both the cornea and the retina, which is the part of your eye that senses light and sends signals to your brain so you can see.
But it’s not just blindness that you have to worry about. Vitamin A deficiency can cause other eye problems too, like dryness, and even small spots on the surface of your eye. The World Health Organization says that hundreds of thousands of kids who don’t get enough vitamin A become blind every year, and sadly, many of them don’t survive for long after losing their sight.
And that’s not all. Vitamin A deficiency can cause a whole bunch of other issues throughout your body too. It can make your skin really dry and lead to problems like acne. It can even make it harder for men and women to have babies, and slow down how fast kids grow. Plus, it can make it easier for kids to get sick, and make it harder for their bodies to heal if they get hurt.
But the good news is, you can get plenty of vitamin A from lots of different foods. Carrots, broccoli, salmon, spinach, and sweet potatoes are just a few examples of foods that are packed with this important vitamin. So next time you’re chowing down, remember to load up on foods that are good for your eyes – and the rest of your body too!
