Vitamin A Like the other vitamins, Vitamin A first became of interest because it was found to be a necessary component of our diet. Vitamin A is involved in promoting heart health, a vigorous immune system, and in preventing some cancers. It is instrumental in maintaining strong bones, and healthy skin and hair. It is most necessary in maintaining good vision - night vision in particular.

Vitamin A, and beta-carotene (which we will look at in a moment) are both found in carrots.
Many readers - of a certain vintage - will no doubt recall the admonitions of their mothers:
"Eat your carrots or you'll end up wearing glasses." or "You don't see rabbits wearing glasses."

Besides its nutritional benefits, Vitamin A is also recognized as an excellent antioxidant.
It excels at combating a form of free radical called singlet oxygen.

With Vitamin A we can, however, get too much of a good thing. In such cases, where there has been a much higher than normal intake of Vitamin A, health problems may occur. These may include hair loss, blurred vision, nausea, fatigue, and so on. Because of this, many people will increase their intake of beta-carotene to do battle as an antioxidant in place of Vitamin A, since beta-carotene is a precursor of Vitamin A.