I’m not going to lie, ideas for this series were running thin. Obviously, the start was simple with things like plant based sources of protein and iron. But I feel like we’ve already covered most of the things people are most concerned about when they adopt a vegan diet. I reached a point where I started Googling vegan deficiencies to see if there was anything I’d forgotten (there wasn’t). Then I saw something mentioning vitamin A. Vitamin A hadn’t crossed my mind at first because there are so many plant based sources of vitamin A. However, most of the main sources aren’t vegan, and the way the body makes vitamin A from vegan foods is different, so it suddenly sounded like a great subject to talk about for this series.
And, as you’re about to find out, a lot of plant based sources of vitamin A are orange vegetables, which is absolutely perfect for this time of year now we’re in pumpkin season.
Animal Vitamin A vs Plant Vitamin A
The big difference between animal and plant vitamin A is that animal sources of vitamin A are preformed and plant based sources aren’t. If you’re now thinking of all the times I’ve mentioned a recipe of mine being high in vitamin A, that’s still correct. The human body is incredible at making the best of what you give it. There’s also provitamin A, which comes from beta-carotene in your diet. The body converts the beta-carotene into retinol equivalent vitamin A.
If that sounds confusing, don’t panic. All you need to know is that there are lots & lots of fruits and vegetables containing beta-carotene. The bad news is that we need more of them due to the fact the body is converting it. However, the good news is that there are so many sources you probably won’t even realise you need to eat more.
How to track consumption
If you want to check roughly how much you’re getting on an average day, it’s very easy to check using something like Cronometer. If you look on the original nutrition menu, it only shows vitamin A, but if you go to the diary settings, there’s an option to include retinol equivalent vitamin A too, which is the one you need to focus on to ensure you’re getting enough on a plant based diet.
How much vitamin A do we need?
As always in this series, guidelines will vary from country to country so please check the recommendations for where you live.
But, according to the NHS, adult (19-64) males need 700 µg and females need 600 µg. The body is able to store excess vitamin A, so you may not need it daily depending on how much you consume. Those numbers are for the retinol equivalent, not straight vitamin A.
Plant Based Sources of Vitamin A
Essentially, if it’s green and leafy, or orange, there’s a very high chance it’s high in vitamin A.
Orange Vegetables
Sweet Potatoes
100g raw provides 709.4µg (86 kcal)
Note the average sweet potato will be between 200g and 300g, so this is smaller than 1 serving.
Suggested recipe: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
100g raw provides 835µg (46 kcal)
The average carrot is 50-70g, so this is more than a serving.
Butternut Squash
100g raw provides 558µg (40 kcal)
An average sized butternut squash ranges from about 750g to 1.1kg
Pumpkin
100g provides 426µg (26 kcal)
Suggested Recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Loaf
Leafy Greens
Kale
100g provides 240µg (35 kcal)
Suggested Recipe: Kale Chips
Spinach
100g provides 467µg (23 kcal)
Fruits
Mango
100g mango provides 54µg
A whole mango is roughly 340g
Suggested Recipe: Mango & Vanilla Breakfast Bowl
Dried Apricots
100g provides 180µg (240 kcal)
A serving would be roughly 30g
Red Pepper
100g provides 157µg (26 kcal)
An average medium sized red pepper is approximately 120g
Suggested Recipe: Lentil Stuffed Peppers
Cantaloupe Melon
100g provides 169µg (34 kcal)
A large melon is roughly 800g
I know I’ve picked more sources here than I normally do in this post, but the point of that was to try and show you how easily it all adds up over the course of a day. You could have some fruit for breakfast or as a snack, a vegetable soup and a salad with a leafy green base and you’ve had well over the daily requirement with very little effort.
As I said, there are a lot of options available here. I’m going to be aiming for 400µg of retinol equivalent vitamin A for my recipes this month. Looking at how high some of these foods are in vitamin A, I can’t imagine that being too hard.
Are you shocked by any of these? Are any of your favourites on this list?
Until next time,
Sophie
Very informative post… thanks for sharing dear 🙂
Beauty and Fashion/Rampdiary/Glamansion
thank you for this lovely post! that’s a very nice information
A very helpful post! Many of these things are my favourite foods and the stuffed sweet potatoes sound amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for giving so many great suggestions on how to get some Vitamin A into your diet and I love the fact that it’s all plant based – I love the sound of the lentil stuffed peppers, I’m always on the lookout for different recipes and haven’t thought of this one before x
I love this; I try to make sure I eat leafy greens as much as I can for iron since I hate taking iron pills. But I know lacking in other vits are also a bad thing. Trying to create a healthy balanced meal is still a challenge for me.
Lovely post! I’ve been trying to increase my Vitamin A intake and this really helps! Thanks for sharing!
MagicandBliss | https://magicandbliss.com/
Luckily I love everything on this list and I do tend to eat a lot of kale and spinach every single day – I’m kind of obsessed with it at the moment. Its interesting to see what fruit and veg contain vitamin A, I’ll be honest that even though I am vegetarian I don’t tend to look into what nutrients I’m getting daily, I know I really should! xx
This was so interesting to learn all about the sources of Vitamin A Sophie! My favourite out of your list is carrots so I’ll try and eat them more often! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I was already familiar with many of these, but I had no idea that mango and cantelope are also good sources of vitamin A. As a HUGE fruit lover, that’s an option that I can get behind. I’m going to have to share this with my husband before he goes shopping at our local produce market later this week.
Omg I LOVE that pumpkin is a source of Vitamin A because I use a lot of it in my baking dishes this time of year :’)
I am going to have to try those kale chips and the sweet potato recipe as well! Amazing post!
I love to eat most of the items you including on this list. I try to eat spinach a lot because it is a good source for iron and fiber. I never thought about that vegetable being a great source of vitamin A. So thank you for sharing!
A very interesting read and I’m relieved to find that I eat most of theseDaily, so have nothing to woRry about! X
This is really useful. I eat quite a few of these already but sweet potato is definitely my favourite.
Honestly Sophie, I don’t even really know what vitamin A does. The detail in these posts stagger me all the time! I love a sweet potato so glad to know they’re high in it x
This is such a helpful post! I love sweet potatoes so it’s great to know that 1 sweet potato has more than enough daily vitamin a!
I love pumpkin! Especially Japanese pumpkin (Kabocha). I hope my local stores get more in soon! Everything in this post looks so delicious and nourishing. <3
xo Danai | living-learning-eating.blogspot.com
This is so useful! I love carrots so definitely need to cook with those more. The stuffed sweet potatoes look amazing too xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I love sweet potato, butternut squash and pumpkin especially at this time of the year x
I love sweet potato! I have never been tested to check my levels but try to make sure I eat a variety of foods for different vitamins xx
I actually didn’t realise what vitamin a does for us. This has been a really informative read.
Ooo this is so interesting! I need to up all of ours as winter takes hold xx