What Is Vitamin A Measured In RAE & What Foods Can I Find It In?
Vitamin A is the name of a group of fat-soluble retinoids, like retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters.
There are two forms of vitamin A are available in our diet: preformed vitamin A and provitamin A carotenoids.
RAE is a measurement of counting bio-activities of vitamin a in foods.
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that cannot be synthesized in our body.
Table of Contents
Vitamin A Is Essential
Vitamin A is not just one vitamin. It is the name of a group of fat-soluble retinoids, like retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters. (source ◳)
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that cannot be synthesized in the body. Therefore, must be obtained through diet. (source ◳)
What is RAE?
RAE stands for Retinol Activity Equivalents. It’s a measurement to count the different bio-activities of retinol and provitamin A-carotenoids in foods.
IU, international units is another measurement. RAE can only be converted into IUs if the source or sources of vitamin A are known. (source ◳)
What Vitamin A Measured In RAE Means
Vitamin A measured in RAE, means the amount of vitamin A that we can obtain from a certain amount of calories. The daily value for vitamin A (RAE) is 400 micrograms.
RAE is one retinol activity equivalent. One retinol activity equivalent (RAE) is the amount of Vitamin A needed to raise serum retinol by 0.1 μmol/L.
This is a good reference to use when comparing the amount of Vitamin A in your body to the RDA.
RDA stands for recommended daily allowance. This is the amount of Vitamin A in a daily diet that is needed to maintain good health.
Two Forms Of Vitamin A
Two forms of vitamin A are available in the human diet: preformed vitamin A and provitamin A. (source ◳)
Preformed vitamin a
Preformed vitamin A is found in foods from animal sources, dairy products, fish, and meat. (source ◳)
The most common preformed vitamin a is retinol, which is also called vitamin A1.
Provitamin A-carotenoid
Provitamin A carotenoid and is found in fruits and vegetables. The most abundant provitamin A is beta-carotene. Examples of other provitamins A-carotenoids are alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. (source ◳)
The bioavailability of provitamin A-carotenoids in fruit and vegetables is lower than once believed. It is difficult to fulfill the daily requirements through plant foods alone. (source ◳)
Toxicity Of Vitamin A
A high intake of vitamin A supplements over a prolonged period can lead to toxicity. Toxicity from food sources is rare. Supplementation should be used only periodically. (source ◳)
Foods You Can Find Vitamin A, RAE In
You find Vitamin A, RAE mostly in fats and oils, beef, lamb, veal, game, and poultry products.
Examples of food sources include
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