This Common Vision Issue is a Sign of Vitamin A Deficiency

Vitamin A deficiency is an issue many of us of us don’t tend to consider. That said, this nutrient – an antioxidant – is critical to vision, cell division, growth, immunity and reproduction.  Moreover, when you aren’t quite getting enough of it from your diet, there are some symptoms that you might start to spot, even if they are incredibly subtle at first. 

Signs of Vitamin A Deficiency

According to the Mayo Clinic, vitamin A deficiency can impact your eyesight and place you at a higher risk of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.  It helps to protect your cells against free radicals and other natural forms of damage.  The issue about getting too little of it is that the symptoms come on gradually enough that you might not notice them for a long time. 

Among the first noticeable signs of vitamin A deficiency is changes in your vision.  This is particularly true of night vision, though it can impact other areas of your sight as well. Many people find that the first place that they notice this issue is in driving at night.  Sometimes, it can also lead to dry mouth, dry hair, broken nails, itchy/bumpy/dry skin, and frequent infections. That said, those tend to take much more time to notice than the changes in vision.

If the vitamin A deficiency is severe enough or if it is allowed to continue for a long enough period of time, it can lead to serous problems. Among the most damaging is permanent vision loss or even blindness.

Aside from vision issues, watch for issues such as:

• Eye sores
• Loss of tears
• Chronic fatigue
• Mouth sores
• Slow wound healing
• Upper/lower respiratory infections
• Dry, cracked lips
• Bladder infections
• Vaginal infections
• Regular diarrhoea

What You Can Do

The good news is that for most of us, vitamin A deficiency is easily preventable by choosing the right foods. If that is challenging to do on a regular basis, taking one of the best vision supplements on a regular basis can help to not only support your intake of that nutrient, but of other ingredients clinically researched for eye and vision health as well. 

Among the foods you can eat on a regular basis include spinach, kale and other dark green leafy vegetables, dairy products and liver, as well as those containing beta-carotene (typically orange fruits and veggies) such as carrots, many types of squash with orange flesh, and cantaloupe.