Vitamin A
Learn to make healthier food choices by using the Nutrition Facts table on prepackaged foods. Vitamin A is found in the Nutrition Facts table.
What is vitamin A?
Vitamin A is important for your health. It plays many different roles in the body:
- It may help keep skin healthy.
- It may help keep good night vision.
- It is part of normal bone growth.
Where can you find vitamin A?
Sources of vitamin A in the diet are:
- Dairy products like cheese and milk
- Eggs
- Fish and seafood such as herring, mackerel, oysters, salmon, tuna
- Leafy green vegetables such as collards, kale, spinach, Swiss chard
- Liver
- Orange fruit like apricots and cantaloupe
- Orange vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato
How can you make a healthier choice?
- Use the % Daily Value (% DV) in the Nutrition Facts table.
- Remember: 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot for all nutrients.
- Vitamin A is a nutrient you may want more of.
Helpful hints at the grocery store:
- Always look at the Nutrition Facts table to choose and compare foods.
- Choose dark green and orange vegetables.
- Choose fish and seafood such as herring, mackerel, oysters, salmon and tuna.
- Choose lower fat milk.
How is the % DV for vitamin A calculated?
The Daily Value used in nutrition labelling is based on 1000 RE of vitamin A for a reference diet (Note: RE equals retinol equivalents).
For example, if a food product has 132 RE of vitamin A, the product would have a % Daily Value for vitamin A of 13%.
(132 RE ÷ 1000 RE) × 100 = 13%.
Remember: 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot for all nutrients.