The 20 foods richest in vitamin A and beta carotene

The 20 foods richest in vitamin A and beta carotene

Eyes, skin ... Vitamin A and its precursors, beta-carotene, allow the body to function properly and age in good health. In what foods are they found? Answers in pictures.

What is the role of vitamin A and what is beta-carotene?

Vitamin A is a family of substances that plays a vital role for the body. It comes in different forms including retinol and provitamins A of the family of carotenoids including beta-carotene. Present in plants, this pigment is responsible for the color of certain fruits and vegetables.

The benefits of vitamin A
Vitamin A and beta-carotene have many health benefits including:

For the health of the eyes: they are responsible for triggering nerve impulses in the optic nerves and contribute to the quality of vision.
For the cells: Beta-carotene has an interesting antioxidant power and thus helps fight cell aging and oxidative stress.
For the skin: Having a good intake of vitamin A and beta-carotene help to have a skin prepared in the sun and cutaneous cells protected against external aggressions, because vitamin A is itself a precursor of melanin responsible for pigmentation skin.
Where is Vitamin A?
If retinol is more present in animal feed (offal), beta-carotene is found in several plants.


Regardless of the form, vitamin A is not very sensitive to cooking, but it is important to keep food safe from air and light to prevent oxidation, which is harmful for the vitamin.

Foods rich in vitamin A and beta carotene

Cooked sweet potato
This exotic vegetable with sweet flesh is, when cooked, the richest beta-carotene food with 10,500 μg per 100g.

Cooked carrot
Carrot is the vegetable of summer cures. And for good reason it is rich in beta-carotene: 8710 μg per 100g.


Raw carrot
The advantage of the carrot? Even raw, it contains vitamin A in abundance with 7,260 μg per 100g.


Baked pumpkin
The pumpkin is the vegetable to consume this winter. Thanks to its dose of beta-carotene equal to 6.940 μg / 100g, it helps the body fight against aging cells and keep a beautiful skin.


Dandelion
The dandelion, or tooth-of-lion is a plant to slip in its salads! It contains 5850 μg per 100g of vitamin A precursors.

Parsley
Aromatic herbs are healthy allies. The proof: parsley is rich in vitamin A with 5360 μg per 100g of beta-carotene.

Roman salad
Another food to slide on his plate. This lettuce variety contains beta-carotene at 5,230 μg per 100g.


Vision, skin, immune system ... Vitamin A and its precursors, beta-carotene, allow the body to function properly and age in good health. Discover the benefits.
Spinach leaves

In addition to being rich in iron and calcium, spinach leaves contain a lot of provitamin A is 4,010 μg per 100g.