Vitamin A Deficiency

     Depletion of the body's vitamin A stores is brought about by a prolonged intake of diet lacking in vitamin A.

     Aside from promoting good night vision,vitamin A plays a host of other important roles.  It plays a part in:

• promoting health of mucus membranes and skin

• bone growth

• reproduction

• maintenance of cell membrane stability

• helping the adrenal glands to synthesized a hormone

• helping to ensure a normal output of thyroxin from the thyroid gland

• helping to maintain nerve cell coverings

• assisting in immune reactions

• helping to manufacture red blood cells

     With all these and other functions, you can just imagine the terrible problems that rise when vitamin A is lacking or absent in the body.

     The body can store up to one year's supply of vitamin A,keeping 90% in the liver.  Deficiency symptoms will only start to appear after your stores are depleted.  Appearance of symptoms suggests that you have stopped eating good food sources of vitamin a for quite sometime.

Probable Causes

• Prolonged starvation

• Too little food intake

• Anorexia

• Zinc deficiency (plays a major role in vitamin A bioavailability)

• Poor food choices (lack of variety)

• Refusal to eat vegetables

Probable Symptoms on:

Eye

• RETINA - Night Blindness

• MEMBRANES - Failure to secret mucopolysaccharide causes change in epithelial tissue (Technical Name for Symptom: Hyperkeratinization)

• GENERAL DRYING (mildnest form) 

     - Triangular gray spots on eye 

     - Irreversible drying and degeneration of the cornea causes blindness (most severe) 

     - The eye's symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (Technical Name for Symptom: Xerophthalmia)

: more on Eyes click here

Skin

Hair follicles plug with keratin, forming white lumps (Technical Name for Symptom: Hyperkeratosis)

: more on skin click here

GI tract

Changes in lining; diarrhea

Respiratory tract

Changes in lining; infections

Urogenital tract

- Changes in lining favor calcium deposition, resulting in kidney stones, bladder disorders

- Infection of the bladder and kidney

- Infections of vagina

Bones

Bone growth ceases; shaped of bones change; joints are painful

Teeth

Enamel-forming cells malfunction; teeth develop cracks and tend to decay; dentin-forming cells atrophy

: more on teeth and gums click here

Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord grow too fast for stunted skull and spine; Injury to brain and nerves causes paralysis

Immune System

Depression of Immune reactions

Blood

Anemia, often masked by dehydration

: more on Blood click here

Helpful Dietary Management

• Eat a balanced diet including dark green leafy and yellow vegetables.