How many hours a day do you spend staring at a screen? Whether a laptop, tablet, phone, or TV, most people spend hours a day behind a screen being bombarded with blue light.
While screens aren’t the devil in small amounts, excessive exposure can lead to various health problems, ranging from physical strain on your eyes and body and sleep disruptions to an increased risk of obesity and reduced cognitive function.
But while the effects of screen time may be far-reaching, your eyes are hit the hardest—and if you’ve ever felt that burning sensation after a long movie marathon, you know what we mean.
Eye health is a big thing that not many people pay attention to, but it’s simple to maintain with a few diet and lifestyle tweaks—and that starts with vitamin A!
In this article, we’ll dive into the link between vitamin A and eyes, and how it can benefit your vision and long-range eye health.
What Is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a term used for a group of fat-soluble compounds essential for optimal health and well-being—it includes retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters 1, 2.
As with most nutrients, vitamin A cannot be produced in the body, making it an essential vitamin that must come from diet or dietary supplements.
You’ll generally find vitamin A in two forms:
- Preformed vitamin A (retinol)
- Provitamin A (carotenoids)
It’s one of the most multifunctional vitamins and is involved in many physiological processes from pre-birth to adulthood.
But many of these essential functions aren’t actually carried out by retinol itself, but rather its active metabolites.
Some of these functions include 1:
- Epithelial integrity and function
- Skin cell regeneration
- Mucous production
- Supporting barrier function
- Healthy immune system
- Growth and development
- Reproduction
- Maintaining healthy vision
Because vitamin A is involved in processes throughout the entire body, a deficiency causes widespread effects and is referred to as vitamin A deficiency disorder (VAD).
Retinol, the active form of vitamin A, is inherent to animal foods; the active form is then converted to retinoic acid, retinal, and retinyl esters for use by the body; these are the only forms of vitamin A the body can immediately use.
Carotenoids, on the other hand, are a class of more than 750 naturally occurring pigments exclusive to plant foods that must be converted into retinol before they can be used 3.
They are the compounds that give fruits and vegetables their characteristic hues of orange, red, and yellow, with one of the most well-known being beta-carotene.
And while vitamin A and beta-carotene play a critical role in many bodily functions, it has an extra special one in eye health—let’s explore it.
Vitamin A And Eye Health: 3 Benefits For Vision
Supports low-light vision
If you’ve noticed that your vision isn’t quite as acute in the dark as it once was, you could be short on vitamin A. The ability of the retina to adjust to low light conditions depends on sufficient amounts of vitamin A.
11-cis retinal is an essential component of rhodopsin, a G-protein coupled receptor that’s the most abundant protein in the rod cells of the retina 4. It functions as the primary photoreceptor molecule of vision.
Without adequate vitamin A levels in the retina, the function of the rods in dim light situations is compromised, which leads to irregular dark adaptation and the inability to see clearly in low light (i.e., night blindness) 5.
Helps protect against cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive and degenerative eye disease that affects a person’s central vision due to damage to the macula—the part of the eye that controls sharp, straight-ahead vision.
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss and preventable blindness in older people, and while it doesn’t cause complete vision loss or blindness, it does make close vision difficult, which affects your ability to see people, drive, read, and more.
And while AMD is multifactorial and includes genetic predisposition, aging, and high oxidative stress, there’s also a big link between dietary micronutrient intake and the risk of AMD progression and other eye-related health conditions 6.
Certain compounds, like vitamin E, vitamin C, and of course, vitamin A, possess antioxidant properties that can prevent oxidative damage involved in the development and progression of degenerative eye diseases.
Vitamin A and carotenoids play several vital roles in the body, and blood levels of vitamin A have been looked at regarding retinal health.
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) showed that people who consume more vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables have a decreased risk for any stage of AMD 7. And when combined with other powerful antioxidant vitamins like vitamins C and E, the protective effects are even stronger.
Another study found that long-term intake of fruits and vegetables with provitamin A carotenoids further decreased the risk of AMD 8. But while there are several studies supporting the role of vitamin A in preventing AMD, other research suggests no association.
Prevents dry eye syndrome
Have you ever felt like tiny daggers are shooting into your eyes? They’re dry, scratchy, and super uncomfortable, which could be a sign you need more vision A. While typically known for protecting vision, vitamin A is also required for tear production.
The stability of the tear film is essential to maintain healthy eyes, keeping them moist and fending off dryness and discomfort.
Although dry eye disease is complex and can result from many causes, often, it can be as simple as not getting enough vitamin A because it’s critical for the ocular tear film and maintaining the integrity of the ocular surface 9.
A 2019 study published in Clinical Ophthalmology looked at 30 male patients with dry eyes supplementing 1500 mg of oral vitamin A for three consecutive days 9.
They found that vitamin A not only ameliorated dry eye symptoms but also enhanced the smoothness and stability of the ocular tear film and increased tear production.
Vitamin A Deficiency Signs And Symptoms
Eye health and vision issues are one major sign that you may not be getting enough vitamin A, but be on the lookout for the other cardinal signs of a vitamin A deficiency:
- Dry skin
- Dry eyes
- Acne and other skin issues
- Poor night vision
- Slow wound healing
- Infertility
- Frequent respiratory tract infections
The Best Sources Of Vitamin A
Increasing your intake of vitamin A-rich foods is the easiest way to boost your levels and maintain eye health, but where can you find it?
Colorful fruits and vegetables contain a high concentration of beta-carotene (provitamin A). But remember that while beta-carotene can be converted into preformed vitamin A, the process isn’t as efficient as consuming preformed vitamin A in the first place.
Some of the best sources of beta-carotene include:
- Sweet potatoes
- Winter squash
- Carrots
- Pumpkin
- Dark leafy green vegetables
- Mangos
- Papaya
- Maize
But anyone who eats meat is looking at a rich source of preformed vitamin A. They contain highly bioavailable vitamin A in the form of retinal.
Although muscle meats aren’t the best source of vitamin A, there are several other options for those who like to walk on the wild side:
- Liver, including fish liver
- Egg yolks
- Dairy (milk, cheese, butter)
- Fish and seafood
You also want to remember that vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning you need a sufficient dietary intake of fats for it to be absorbed from food—and certain fats are actually a great source of vitamin A.
Sustainably sourced red palm oil and biruti palm oil are two fats high in vitamin A, but if always opt for natural and unprocessed forms, as boiling them reduces vitamin A quantities.
In addition to a balanced diet with vitamin A-rich foods, also consider taking supplements to fill in the gaps.
Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi is an all-in-one multivitamin that supplies 100% RDI of 17+ important vitamins and minerals in optimal forms for maximum bioavailability.
And when you combine that with Performance Lab Vision—a potent blend of the best vitamins for vision—you’re getting ideal nutritional protection from the harmful effects of blue light, comprehensive support for sharper vision, and long-range eye health in a daily supplement.
Pop it alongside eggs, dark leafy greens, and sweet potatoes, and you have yourself a solid vitamin A-rich meal to support good vision.
References
- Gilbert C. What is vitamin A and why do we need it? Community Eye Health. 2013;26(84):65.
- O'Byrne SM, Blaner WS. Retinol and retinyl esters: biochemistry and physiology. J Lipid Res. 2013;54(7):1731-1743.
- Wang XD. Carotenoids. In: Ross CA, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, Tucker KL, Ziegler TR, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 11th ed: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2014:427-439.
- Lenahan C, Sanghavi R, Huang L, Zhang JH. Rhodopsin: A Potential Biomarker for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Front Neurosci. 2020;14:326.
- Institute of Medicine (US) Panel on Micronutrients. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001. 4, Vitamin A. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK222318/
- Khoo HE, Ng HS, Yap WS, Goh HJH, Yim HS. Nutrients for Prevention of Macular Degeneration and Eye-Related Diseases. Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(4):85.
- Goldberg J, Flowerdew G, Smith E, Brody JA, Tso MO. Factors associated with age-related macular degeneration. An analysis of data from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Epidemiol. 1988;128(4):700-710.
- de Koning-Backus APM, Buitendijk GHS, Kiefte-de Jong JC, et al. Intake of Vegetables, Fruit, and Fish is Beneficial for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Am J Ophthalmol. 2019;198:70-79.
- Alanazi SA, El-Hiti GA, Al-Baloud AA, et al. Effects of short-term oral vitamin A supplementation on the ocular tear film in patients with dry eye. Clin Ophthalmol. 2019;13:599-604.
