Recommended Intake
The recommended daily intake of vitamin A differs, depending on age. Also, women often need more of this vitamin when they are breastfeeding or pregnant. The general guideline is as follow:
– 0 to 6 months: 0.4 mg
– 7 to 12 months: 0.5 mg
– 1 to 3 years: 0.3 mg
– 4 to 8 years: 0.4 mg
– 9 to 13 years: 0.6 mg
– Over 14 years: 0.7 mg for women and 0.9 mg for men
– Pregnancy: 0.77 mg
– Breastfeeding: 1.3 mg [6]
Risks
Vitamin can be stored in the body because it is a fat-soluble nutrient. It means that consuming too much from supplements or diet would result in toxicity. In many cases, a single dose of more than 200 g would lead to typical symptoms, such as pain, headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Taking more than 10 g of vitamin A supplements per day would cause some long-term health issues. These include birth defects, bone and joint pain, skin irritation, nausea, diarrhea, headache, liver damage, and bone thinning. [7]
