How Vitamin A And Beta-carotene Benefit Our Vision

With so many vitamins available to us, it’s hard to know which ones you really need to keep an eye out for!

Today we want to share with you two vitamins in particular that both benefit eye health and prevent vision loss—vitamin A and beta-carotene.

What Are Vitamin A And Beta-Carotene?

Put simply, vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin found in various foods that is both good for our eyes and benefits our immune system. Beta-carotene is a provitamin “carotenoid” that helps give vegetables their bright pigmentation, and is also good for our vision and overall growth and development. The main difference between the two is that unlike vitamin A, carotenoids like beta-carotene only come from vegetables.

Vitamins Benefit Our Eyes In Various Ways

Vitamin A has a host of benefits for our eyes. One of the most important is reducing the risk of developing macular degeneration and vision loss. Vitamin A also soothes eye inflammation and makes it less likely to for us to develop eye infections.

Beta-carotene converts into Vitamin A in the body, and has similar benefits. Specifically as a carotenoid, beta-carotene reduces the oxidative stress put on our eyes from blue light emitted by the sun and our various devices' screens. It's even been found to make our vision sharper!

Which Foods Contain The Right Vitamins?

We’ve all heard that carrots are good for our eyes, and it turns out it’s true! Carrots aren’t the only vegetables that contain Vitamin A, however. Kale, spinach, and collard greens are other vegetable alternatives to keep your vision sharp! If you’re looking for other solutions, cantaloupe, eggs, and liver are also great solutions to help keep your vitamin A and beta-carotene supplies up to par.

To learn more about why carrots and other veggies are good for our eyes, check out the video below! You'll even learn what caused people to think eating carrots enhanced their night vision!

Getting The Right Amount Is Important

As long as you’re getting the majority of your vitamin A and beta-carotene from vegetables, you don’t have to worry about ingesting too much of either. Vitamin A found from animal food sources can become toxic if ingested in excess, however—so be careful!

However you get your Vitamin A and beta-carotene, be sure you’re getting enough! When we don’t consume enough of these vitamins, our risk of vision loss and developing eye disease increases.

When It Comes To Your Vision Health, We're Here For You

If you have any questions about Vitamin A and beta-carotene and how they affect your vision health, give your local Vision Source® member practice a call! We love answering your questions and want to help ensure your eyes are getting the vitamins they need.

Thank you for being our trusted patients and friends.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.