You may already know Vitamin A is one of the 4 fat-soluble vitamins your body needs. However, what most people don't know is that Vitamin A is actually not a singular compound. There are 2 different types of fat-soluble retinoids, which are both considered Vitamin A.
The first type is preformed Vitamin A like Retinol, and the second type is provitamin A carotenoids like Beta-Carotene. Both types are converted into the active Vitamin A form the body requires. (1) However, the conversion for each type is different. This makes it difficult to know how much actual Vitamin A you are consuming in your daily diet.
The measurement for Vitamin A is Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE). The RAE measurement is important because even though 1 mcg of Retinol is equivalent to 1 mcg RAE, it takes 2 mcg of supplemental Beta-Carotene to equal 1 mcg RAE. Therefore, you need double the amount of Beta-Carotene compared to Retinol in order to get the same amount of Vitamin A.
To know exactly how much Vitamin A your body requires, you just have to look at the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). These are different based upon your sex and age. The RDA for women ages 14+ is 700 mcg RAE, and the RDA for men ages 14+ is 900 mcg RAE.
Why is Vitamin A an essential vitamin? It's mainly involved in immune function, vision, reproduction, and cellular communication. It also plays a critical role in the normal formation and maintenance of the heart, kidneys, and other organs. Overall, this makes it a critical part of your entire health and well-being.
Our Pinnacle Men's and Women's Multis have the 100% RDA value for both adult men and women. We chose to use Beta-Carotene instead of Retinol because there have been a few safety concerns of supplementing Retinol in some research. These safety concerns do not apply to Beta-Carotene.
Why consider supplementing? Because Vitamin A has consistently been found to be one of the many vitamins that a large percentage of Americans are not consuming enough of in their daily diet. A recent study showed that 43% of Americans are consuming inadequate amounts of Vitamin A. (2) Almost half the population!
Since we have the 100% RDA for both men and women in our Pinnacle Multis, it's a nice insurance policy to know you're getting the necessary amount everyday (as well as all the other essential vitamins).