rete<\/em> which means \u201cnet\u201d, which probably refers to the net-like mesh of blood vessels at the back of the human eye.<\/p>\nAs mentioned above, a deficiency of vitamin A can lead to night-blindness. And, it is this, along with the relatively high levels of beta-carotene in carrots, which led the British Ministry of Information to start a carrot-related propaganda campaign during World War II. They let it be known that their RAF pilots had improved their ability to see in the dark (and hence shoot down German planes) by eating lots of carrots.<\/p>\n
In reality, it was the secret development of on-board Airborne Interception Radar that accounted for the RAF\u2019s success rate in repelling the Germans\u2026 but the British didn\u2019t want their attackers to know that! As such, ever since then, the myth that carrots can help people see in the dark has been perpetuated by any parent trying to get their kids to eat something healthy!<\/p>\n
Do Vegans Need Vitamin A Supplements?<\/h2>\n
It is unlikely that vegans who follow a varied diet would require vitamin A supplements. The fact that the body is able to store this fat-soluble vitamin, and that it can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, means that there are numerous opportunities to acquire enough of it through the foods mentioned above. Vitamin A supplements do have their place in developing countries, but for those in the UK, just a little basic meal planning will ensure you consume enough vitamin A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":520,"parent":444,"menu_order":0,"template":"","acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/health\/519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/health"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/health"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/health\/444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Vitamin](\"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/carrots-vitamin-a.jpg\")
Vitamin A is essential to help humans remain healthy. It helps maintain the body\u2019s immune system, enables you to see in low-light conditions, and it helps keep skin and membranous linings in the body in good working order. However, take a look at the best dietary sources of vitamin A \u2013 cheese, eggs, milk, oily fish and liver \u2013 and it reads like a who\u2019s who of vile villains in the eyes of a vegan. The good news for vegans and those following a plant-based diet is that there are plenty of vegan-friendly foods that contain plentiful quantities of beta-carotene, which the body can convert into vitamin A, which is rather handy.<\/p>\n![\"Vitamin](\"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/vitamin-a-sources.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Beta](\"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/beta-carotene-chemistry.jpg\")
Beta-carotene is a provitamin-A (a substance which can be converted into vitamin A). The absorption of beta-carotene varies from person to person depending on their physiology. However, research endorsed by the US Institute of Medicine suggests that common dietary beta-carotene can be converted to retinol (active vitamin A) at a ratio of 12:1 (hence consuming 12mg of beta-carotene would generally result in the body absorbing 1mg of vitamin A).<\/p>\n![\"Carrots](\"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/carrots-eyesight.jpg\")
<\/p>\n