Excessive vitamin A can cause severe damage to the body

Vitamins are a group of organic compounds that are essential for normal growth and nutrition. They are required in small quantities in diet, because they cannot be synthesised by the body. They aid to the nutrition of the person, but consumption of vitamin alone will not be enough.

Everyone likes to consume nutritious foods like fish, meat, milk, eggs and fruits etc. but many people cannot afford it. But the good thing is many affordable green leafy vegetables contain significant amount of vitamin A. People can eat them and the required dose of vitamin A can be fulfilled. But if excessive amount of vitamin A is consumed by children, it may cause toxicity and also may cause even death.

The discovery of vitamin A toxicity and that it can also cause death was first known while investigating the illness and death of explorers in the North Pole who ate livers of polar bear. The investigators noticed that the liver of polar bear contains excessive amount of vitamin A (12 mg/gm).

Everyday intake of 6 mg (20,000 IU) of vitamin A can initiate the vitamin A toxicity within 2 months. Vitamin A plus capsule contains 200,000 IU of vitamin A which can be harmful for children below 5 years of age.

In the North Pole region, the sledge dogs eat the meat of the polar bear but they do not eat the liver because it contains excessive amounts of vitamin A.

Lack of vitamin A can cause night blindness, damage to the cornea (Keratomalacia), drying of eyes (Xerophthalmia) and even can lead to complete blindness. The area which has many cases of night blindness indicates that the people there are suffering from malnutrition and severe lack of vitamin A. Only children from those areas can be provided with 10,000 IU of vitamin A.

In Bangladesh, many people might suffer from malnutrition but not many people may have severe lack of vitamin A which leads to night blindness. This is because even if they do not have meat, fish, milk etc. in their diet, they consume green and colorful vegetables which contain vitamin A.