Last reviewed on 11 September 2026.
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What follows covers the two forms of vitamin A, where each comes from on an Indian plate, what deficiency looks like, how the child dosing programme works, and where the line on safety sits.
What does vitamin A do in the body?
Vitamin A keeps the eyes working in dim light, keeps the body's linings healthy and supports immunity. In the retina it forms part of rhodopsin, the pigment that lets the eye see at dusk. Throughout the body it keeps the cornea and the moist linings of the gut, airways and urinary tract intact, and those linings are the first barrier against infection. Because it is fat-soluble, the liver can store months' worth, which is both a safety net and the reason overdoses build up.
What are the two forms of vitamin A?
Retinol and provitamin A carotenoids. Retinol, also called preformed vitamin A, is found only in animal foods and is ready for the body to use. Carotenoids, chiefly beta-carotene, are the orange and yellow pigments in plants, which the body converts to vitamin A as it needs it. That conversion is incomplete, so weight for weight beta-carotene counts for considerably less than retinol, and the efficiency varies between foods and between people. The body also slows the conversion when its stores are full, which is why carotenoids from food do not cause toxicity.
| Retinol | Beta-carotene | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | liver, egg yolk, whole milk, curd, butter, ghee, cheese, oily fish | carrot, pumpkin, mango, papaya, sweet potato, dark green leaves |
| How the body handles it | ready to use as it is | converted as needed, and the conversion is incomplete |
| Weight for weight | counts in full | counts for considerably less |
| Too much | a real risk, since it accumulates | none from food, because conversion slows when stores are full |
Colour is a rough guide to carotene. Pale, white-fleshed sweet potato carries very little.
Which Indian foods are the best sources of vitamin A?
For retinol: liver, egg yolk, whole milk, curd, butter, ghee, cheese and oily fish. For beta-carotene: carrot, orange pumpkin, ripe mango, papaya, orange-fleshed sweet potato, and dark green leaves such as drumstick leaves, spinach, amaranth, methi and mustard greens. Colour is a rough guide, since the deeper the orange or the darker the green, the more carotene there usually is. The pale, white-fleshed sweet potato common in many Indian markets carries little. Fortified edible oil and milk bearing the FSSAI +F logo add a small, steady amount.
Does fat help the body absorb vitamin A?
Yes, both forms need fat to be absorbed. Carotene from raw grated carrot eaten on its own is poorly taken up, while carrot cooked in a sabzi with a spoon of oil, or palak finished with a little ghee, does much better. Gentle cooking and chopping also help by breaking down the plant cell walls that trap the pigment. A very low-fat diet, or a condition that interferes with fat digestion, cuts vitamin A absorption sharply. The guide to Indian foods and nutrients shows how such pairings work for other nutrients too.
How much vitamin A does an adult need each day?
About 1,000 mcg for men and about 840 mcg for women, according to the ICMR-NIN requirements published in 2020, with lower figures for children by age. These are expressed as retinol equivalents, so plant sources count for less than their raw carotene weight. A mixed Indian diet with dairy most days, some orange or yellow produce and leafy greens several times a week comes close to these figures without special effort. Needs rise a little in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and that rise is meant to come from food, not from high-dose retinol.
What disease does vitamin A deficiency cause?
Night blindness is the earliest and most common sign, and continued deficiency leads to xerophthalmia, a progressive drying of the eye. In Hindi the question vitamin A ki kami se kaun sa rog hota hai usually gets the answer rataundhi, night blindness, which is correct as far as it goes. Xerophthalmia moves from dry, dull conjunctiva to Bitot's spots, then to a dry and ulcerated cornea and finally keratomalacia, where the cornea softens and sight can be lost for good. Deficiency also makes children's infections, especially measles and diarrhoea, more frequent and more severe, and raises the risk of dying from them.
What are Bitot's spots?
Bitot's spots are foamy, greyish-white patches on the white of the eye, usually roughly triangular and on the outer side, and in a child they point to vitamin A deficiency. They form where the conjunctiva has dried and thickened and surface cells have piled up. They often fade with treatment in young children, though in older children some persist. A child who stumbles in poor light, avoids the dark or has such patches should see a doctor promptly, because early eye changes respond to treatment while late corneal damage can be permanent.
Who is most at risk of vitamin A deficiency in India?
Young children in households where meals are mostly cereal with few vegetables, fruit or dairy carry the highest risk. Frequent diarrhoea and measles drain stores and reduce absorption, so sick and severely malnourished children slip into deficiency faster. The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (2016 to 2018) still found low blood retinol in a sizeable share of children and adolescents, roughly one in five in some age groups. Among adults, the people at risk are those with fat malabsorption, liver disease or heavy alcohol use, and pregnant women in food-insecure homes.
How does India's vitamin A programme for children work?
Children receive oral vitamin A solution free through the public health system, starting at nine months alongside the measles-rubella vaccine and then every six months up to the age of five. The liquid is given by spoon at immunisation sessions, sub-centres and anganwadis. Parents should follow the schedule their health worker or paediatrician gives and keep the immunisation card up to date. Extra doses should not be given privately on top of the programme, because each dose is large and the spacing between them is part of its safety.
How the child dosing schedule runs
The first dose at nine months
It is given by spoon alongside the measles-rubella vaccine, free through the public health system.
Then every six months to the age of five
Later doses come at immunisation sessions, at sub-centres and at anganwadis, on the same six-monthly rhythm.
Keep the card up to date
Follow the schedule the health worker or paediatrician sets, and let the immunisation card record each dose given.
Do not add private doses on top
Each dose is large, and the spacing between them is part of what makes the programme safe.
Treatment doses are a separate decision
Doctors also give vitamin A for measles, severe malnutrition and the eye signs of deficiency, which is treatment rather than prevention.
Why are the child doses spaced six months apart?
Because a single large dose is stored in the liver and released slowly, keeping a small child topped up for several months. Cochrane reviews of trials in low- and middle-income countries have found that supplementing children between six months and five years reduced deaths from all causes, as well as deaths from diarrhoea and cases of night blindness. The programme targets this age band because it is when infections are most likely to kill. Doctors also give vitamin A as treatment for measles, severe malnutrition and eye signs of deficiency.
Can you get too much vitamin A?
Yes, from retinol, though not from the carotenoids in food. The US upper limit for adults is 3,000 mcg of preformed vitamin A a day, and regular intakes above that can damage the liver, thin the bones and cause headaches and skin changes. Very large single doses bring nausea, headache, vomiting and blurred vision. The usual culprits are supplements, fish liver oils and frequent helpings of liver, since a 100 g serving can carry several times the daily requirement. Eating plenty of carrot or papaya may tint the palms yellow-orange, a harmless condition called carotenaemia that fades once intake falls.
Is vitamin A safe in pregnancy?
From ordinary food, yes, but high-dose retinol supplements are not. Excess preformed vitamin A early in pregnancy can cause birth defects, and isotretinoin, an acne medicine chemically related to vitamin A, is a well-documented cause, which is why women taking it are told to avoid becoming pregnant. Pregnant women are generally advised to skip retinol-containing supplements unless prescribed and to eat liver rarely, if at all. Beta-carotene from vegetables and fruit remains safe. Any supplement in pregnancy is best cleared with the obstetrician, and the pregnancy diet guide covers the food side.
Do adults need vitamin A supplements?
Most do not. Deficiency is uncommon in adults eating a varied diet, and a stand-alone supplement adds risk without clear benefit. Beta-carotene capsules carry their own warning: large trials in Finland and the US found that high-dose beta-carotene raised lung cancer rates in smokers. The exceptions are people with fat malabsorption, such as coeliac disease, cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis or life after bariatric surgery, and people with liver disease, who need doses set by their doctors. The list of all 13 vitamins shows where A sits among the rest.
How can you add vitamin A to a child's plate?
Through colour and a little fat at most meals. Mashed pumpkin or carrot stirred into khichdi with a spoon of ghee, egg once the child is eating solids well, curd, seasonal mango and papaya, and palak or drumstick leaves folded into dal or paratha all add up. The Indian child nutrition diet chart sets out portions by age. For parents and professionals who want the fuller picture, NNWA's Child Nutrition course covers feeding growing children, adolescent growth needs and the deficiencies common at both ends of life over five weeks at a beginner level, for 8,999 rupees, reduced from 13,999, with an NNWA certificate.
The honest summary on vitamin A
Vitamin A comes ready-made in animal foods and as beta-carotene in orange fruit, vegetables and dark leaves, and it is absorbed best with a little fat. Deficiency shows first as night blindness and, in children, as more dangerous infections. The six-monthly child doses from nine months to five years are worth keeping to on schedule. Retinol supplements, by contrast, are a real hazard in excess, above all in pregnancy.