What Everybody Ought to Know About Vitamin A Rich Foods

What Everybody Ought to Know About Vitamin A Rich Foods
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Fruits constitute an important source of Vitamin A. While most fruits contain vitamin A, fruits with vitamin A in the highest concentration are those colored yellow, red and green.

The optimal requirement of vitamin A per day is:

  • 10,000 IU for adult males
  • 8,000 IU for adult females, and 12,000 IU if lactating
  • 4,000 IU for children ages 1-3
  • 5,000 IU for children ages 4-6
  • 7,000 IU for children ages 7-10

IU stands for International Units, the standard unit of measurement for some vitamins. It is the same principle as milligrams, though not equivalent.

Among fruits, cantaloupes, grapefruit, guava, mango, papaya, passion fruit, tomatoes, and watermelon have the highest quantity of vitamin A per piece. All these vitamin A rich foods also furnish a high vitamin C and potassium content.

Nutritional Information for Cantaloupe

A medium wedge (slice) of cantaloupe contains 2334 IU of vitamin A, and a cup of cantaloupe provides the entire daily vitamin A requirement for an adult male. Cantaloupe is also rich in vitamin C (25.3 mg per medium wedge), and supplies 84 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a medium sized wedge of cantaloupe include:

  • 58 grams protein, 23 calories, and 0.6 grams of dietary fiber
  • 0.028 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.013 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 0.506 mg of niacin, 14 mcg of folate, 0.072 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.05 mg of vitamin B6, 0.03 mg of vitamin E, and 1.7 mcg of vitamin K
  • 10 mg of phosphorus, 8 mg of magnesium, 6 mg of calcium, 11 mg of sodium, 0.14 mg of iron, 0.3 mcg of selenium, 0.028 mg of manganese, 0.028 mg of copper, and 0.12 mg of zinc

Image Credit/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Nutritional Information for Grapefruit

GrapefruitA cup of grapefruit contains 2132 IU of vitamin A, 79.1 mg of vitamin C, and 320 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a cup of grapefruit include:

  • 1.45 grams of protein, 74 calories and 2.5 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.1 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.046 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 0.575 mg of niacin, 23 mcg of folate, 0.651 mg of pantothenic acid , 0.097 mg of vitamin B6, 0.3 mg of vitamin E
  • 18 mg of phosphorus, 18 mg of magnesium, 28 mg of calcium - 28 mg, 0.21 mg of iron, 0.7 mcg of selenium, 0.028 mg of manganese, 0.108 mg of copper, and 0.16 mg of zinc.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/fruggo

Nutritional Information for Guava

GuavaOne cup of fresh guava contains 1030 IU of vitamin A, 376.7 mg of vitamin C, and 688 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a cup of guava include:

  • 4.21 grams of protein, 112 calories and 8.9 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.111 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.066 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 1.789 mg of niacin, 81 mcg of folate, 0.744 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.181 mg of vitamin B6, 1.2 mg of vitamin E, and 4.3 mcg of vitamin K.
  • 66 mg of phosphorus, 36 mg of magnesium, 30 mg of calcium, 3 mg of sodium, 0.43 mg of iron, 1 mcg of selenium, 0.247 mg of manganese, 0.38 mg of copper, and 0.38 g of zinc.

Image Credit: flickr.com/oquendo

Nutritional Information for Mango

_Mango_One mango without peel contains 1584 IU of vitamin A, 57.3 mg of vitamin C, and 323 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a medium sized mango include:

  • 1.06 grams of protein, 135 calories and 3.7 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.12 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.118 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 1.209 mg of niacin, 29 mcg of folate, 0.331 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.227 mg of vitamin B6, 2.32 mg of vitamin E, and 8.7 mcg of vitamin K.
  • 23 mg of phosphorus, 19 mg of magnesium, 21 mg of calcium, 4 mg of sodium, 0.27 mg of iron, 1.2 mcg of selenium, 0.056 mg of manganese, 0.228 mg of copper, and 0.08 mg of zinc.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Amos T Fairchild

On the next page, we’ll look at three additional fruits with vitamin A: papaya, passion fruit, and tomato.

Nutritional Information for Papaya

Papaya

One cup of cubed fresh papaya contains 1532 IU of vitamin A, 86.5 mg of vitamin C and 360 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a cup of papaya include:

  • 0.85 grams of protein, 55 calories and 2.5 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.038 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.045 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 0.473 mg of niacin, 53 mcg of folate, 0.305 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.027 mg of vitamin B6, 1.02 mg of vitamin E, and 3.6 mcg of vitamin K.
  • 7 mg of phosphorus, 14 mg of magnesium, 34 mg of calcium, 4 mg of sodium, 0.14 mg of iron, 0.8 mcg of selenium, 0.1 mg of zinc, 0.015 mg of manganese, and 0.022 mg of copper

Image Credit: flickr.com/love janine

Nutritional Information for Passion Fruit

Passion Fruit

Among fruits with vitamin A, passion fruit has the highest concentration of vitaminA. One cup of fresh passion fruit contains 3002 IU of vitamin A, 70.8 mg of vitamin C, and 821 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a cup of passion fruit include:

  • 5.19 grams of protein, 229 calories and 24.5 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.307 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 3.54 mg of niacin, 33 mcg of folate, 0.236 mg of vitamin B6, 0.05 mg of vitamin E, and 1.7 mcg of vitamin K.
  • 160 mg of phosphorus, 68 mg of magnesium, 28 mg of calcium, 66 mg of sodium, 3.78 mg of iron, 1.4 mcg of selenium, 0.203 mg of copper, and 0.24 mg of zinc.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Sannse

Nutritional Information for Tomato

Tomato

One medium sized tomato contains 1025 IU of vitamin A, 15.6 mcg of vitamin C, and 292 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a medium sized tomato include:

  • 1.08 grams of protein, 22 calories and 1.5 grams of fiber
  • 0.046 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.023 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 0.731 mg of niacin, 18 mcg of folate, 0.109 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.098 mg of vitamin B6, 0.66 mg of vitamin E, an 9.7 mcg of vitamin K
  • 30 mg of phosphorus, 14 mg of magnesium, 12 mg of calcium, 6 mg of sodium, 0.33 mg of iron, 0.14 mg of manganese, 0.073 mg of copper, and 0.21 mg of zinc.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Donovan Govan

On the next page, we examine another fruit with vitamin A: watermelon, and the health benefits of vitamin A rich foods.

Nutritional Information for Watermelon

WatermelonA medium slice of watermelon, equivalent to about a two cup edible portion, contains 1627 IU of vitamin A, 23.2 mg of vitamin C, and 320 mg of potassium.

Other nutrients in a medium slice of watermelon include:

  • 1.74 grams of protein, 86 calories and 1.1 grams of dietary fiber.
  • 0.094 mg of vitamin B1 (thiamine), 0.06 mg of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 0.509 mg of niacin, 9 mcg of folate, 0.632 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.129 mg of vitamin B6, 0.14 mg of vitamin E, and 0.3 mcg of vitamin K.
  • 31 mg of phosphorus, 29 mg of magnesium, 20 mg of calcium, 3 mg of sodium, 0.69 mg of iron, 1.1 mcg of selenium, 0.109 mg of manganese, 0.12 mg of copper, and 0.29 mg of zinc.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Beyond Silence

Health Benefits of Fruits with Vitamin A

The health benefits of fruits with vitamin A are many.

The major role of vitamin A in the human body is:

  • regulation of the immunity system by creation of white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses
  • formation of strong surface linings of the eyes and the respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts help maintain healthy eyes and skin, and prevents bacteria from entering the body and causing infection.

Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness, dry skin, poor bone growth, and weak tooth enamel.

The presence of Vitamin C in high amounts in vitamin A rich fruits helps:

  • protect the immunity system from damage caused by free radicals
  • stimulate the growth of white cells, which fight infection and prevent illness by killing harmful bacteria and virus
  • produce and maintain new cells during pregnancy

The high amounts of potassium found in vitamin A rich fruits help:

  • maintain normal water balance between the cells and body fluids and help prevent obesity, rheumatism, and arthritis
  • maintain proper heart function and prevent irregular heartbeats and high blood pressure
  • prevent muscular cramps, twitching and weakness, insomnia, constipation, abdominal and stomach gas, kidney damage, and lung failure

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