Vitamins - Life Prolonging Foods

According to Dr. Edward Henderson, a past president of the America Geriatric Society, the age of one hundred is realistic and conceivable goal.

Dr. Thomas S. Gardiner, one of the founders of the National Foundation for Anti-ageing Research, believes that we have not even approached the normal span of life. He claims that most ageing is premature, and that body organs are designed to last six to seven Apple

This popular fruit is a disease fighting foods and helps prolong life. It reduces cholesterol and helps prevent cander. It possesses milk ‘Vitamin A’ covers both a pre-formed, retinol, and a pro-vitamin, beta carotene, some of which is converted to retinol in the intestinal mucosa (23).

The international units (IU) originally established for vitamin A and pro-vitamin were discarded in 1954 and 1956 respectively (24). In 1960, the term ‘retinol’ was introduced for vitamin A-1 alcohol (which is available in crystalline form), but most workers prefer the older term vitamin A and the international unit. The international unit (IU) of vitamin is equivalent to 0.3 microgram of retinol (or 0.55 microgram of retinol palmitate).

Some food composition tables give separate values for retinol beta—carotene. To convert these into a single value, the term “retinol equivalent” (RE) has been conventionally adopted. The conversion can be done in the following way:

1 mcg of retinol = 1 mcg of RE

1 mcg of B-carotene = 0.167 mcg of RE

1 mcg of other carotenoids = 0.084 mcg of RE

Functions:

Vitamin A participates in many bodily functions:

a) it is indispensable for normal vision. It contributes to the production of retinal pigments which are needed for vision in dim ligh.

(b) it is necessary for maintaining the integrity and the normal functioning of glandular and epithelial tissue which lines intestinal, respiratory and urinary tracts as well as the skin and eyes

(c) it supports growth, especially skeletal growth

(d) it is anti-infective; there is increased susceptibility to infection and lowered immune response in Vitamin A deficiency, and

(e) it may protect against some epithelial cancers such as bronchial cancers, but the data are not fully consistent.

(f) However, the role of Vitamin A at the molecular level is not yet known.

Sources

Vitamin A is widely distributed in animal and plant foods –in animal foods are preformed vitamin A (retinol), and in plant foods are pro-vitamins (carotenes).

(a) Animal Foods: foods rich in retinol area liver, eggs, butter, cheese, whole milk, fish and meat. Fish liver oils are the richest natural sources of retinol (Table 4), but they are generally used as nutritional supplements rather than as food sources.

(b) Plant foods: The cheapest source of Vitamin A is green leafy vegetables such as spinach amaranth which are found in great abundance in nature throughout the year. The darker the green leaves, the higher its carotene content. Vitamin A also occurs in most green yellow fruits and vegetables (e.g. papaya, mango, pumpkin) and in some roots (e.g., carrots). The most important carotenoid is beta-carotene which has the highest vitamin A activity. Carotenes are converted to vitamin A in the small intestine. This action is poorly accomplished in malnourished children and those suffering from diarrhoea.

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