There is no arguing that vitamin A is good for you. We've all heard the old joke about never seeing a rabbit with glasses. But in all seriousness, vitamins have to be taken in moderation because they can become toxic if taken in large amounts. Vitamin A is no different. In this article, we're going to briefly review the benefits of vitamin A, what some good sources are and what the risks are should you get more vitamin A into your system than you should at one time. Hopefully, after reading this article, you'll be sufficiently prepared to deal with your vitamin A regime.

While it is true that vitamin A is essential for good vision, and especially for the prevention of night blindness, it is also very important for proper growth of your skin and bones, as well as making sure that you don't end up losing your teeth in your old age. Most people think that calcium and vitamin D are the only factors in this area. That is just not true.

For the most part, the chances of vitamin A toxicity is very rare with a normal diet. It would be extremely difficult to take enough vitamin A through the foods that we eat to have any problems. Where the problems occur is when somebody is suffering from vitamin A deficiency, which is usually characterizes by poor vision, night blindness, degeneration of the cornea and in severe cases, blindness. When these things happen, large doses of vitamin A are often prescribed. If too large a dose is taken, usually through a multi vitamin or other supplements, vitamin A toxicity occurs.

How do you know that you're suffering from vitamin A toxicity? Well, that's part of the problem. Many of the symptoms are also common with other problems. The main symptoms are headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, flaky skin, stomach, or other gastrointestinal problems, weight loss and even liver damage. Again, these are symptoms of many other conditions and problems. However, in most cases, when these symptoms exist, if the problem is vitamin A toxicity, you will find that the person is on a heavy vitamin regiment for vitamin A deficiency.

So since you can't really be sure that these symptoms are being caused by vitamin A toxicity, see your doctor. Have him give you a blood test. If he determines that the problem is vitamin A toxicity, the common treatment for this problem is vitamin C. He probably won't bring this up, but large doses of vitamin C, which is not toxic because it comes out in the urine, will take care of your problem.

If vitamin A toxicity is caught early, it is easily treatable. The key is to catch it at the earliest signs.

To YOUR Health,

Steve Wagner