Vitamin C (water soluble) and A (fat soluble) for vision and cancer fighting properties: both from colored fruits and veggies
Signs that you are low in Vitamin C and A is when your vision is weak and you get allergies and get tired or sick easily.
Eat Vit A (afternoon) together with good fatty foods and eat Vit C (morning) with water soluble foods. Vitamin C is important in the absorption of most minerals and nutrients in the body such as Calcium, magnesium, iron and others.
Ascorbic acid becomes widely distributed in body tissues with large concentrations found in the liver, leukocytes, platelets, glandular tissues, and the lens of the eye. In the plasma about 25% of the ascorbic acid is bound to proteins. Ascorbic acid crosses the placenta; cord blood concentration are generally 2 to 4 times the concentration in maternal blood. Ascorbic acid is distributed into milk. In nursing mothers on a normal diet the milk contains 40 to 70 ug/mL of the vitamin. Food Sources of Vitamin C ranked by mg of vitamin C per standard amount; also calories in the standard amount. (All provide ≥ 20% of RDA for adult men, which is 90 mg/day.)
Whole Food, Standard Amount | Vitamin C (mg) | Calories |
Guava, raw, ½ cup | 188 | 56 |
Red sweet pepper, raw, ½cup | 142 | 20 |
Red sweet pepper, cooked, ½ cup | 116 | 19 |
Kiwi fruit, 1 medium | 70 | 46 |
Orange, raw, 1 medium | 70 | 62 |
Orange juice, ¾ cup | 61-93 | 79-84 |
Green pepper, sweet, raw, ½ cup | 60 | 15 |
Green pepper, sweet, cooked, ½ cup | 51 | 19 |
Grapefruit juice, ¾ cup | 50-70 | 71-86 |
Vegetable juice cocktail, ¾ cup | 50 | 34 |
Strawberries, raw, ½ cup | 49 | 27 |
Brussels sprouts, cooked, ½ cup | 48 | 28 |
Cantaloupe, ¼ medium | 47 | 51 |
Papaya, raw, ¼ medium (strong enzyme) | 47 | 30 |
Kohlrabi, cooked, ½ cup | 45 | 24 |
Broccoli, raw, ½ cup | 39 | 15 |
Edible pod peas, cooked, ½ cup | 38 | 34 |
Broccoli, cooked, ½ cup | 37 | 26 |
Sweet potato, canned, ½ cup | 34 | 116 |
Tomato juice, ¾ cup | 33 | 31 |
Cauliflower, cooked, ½ cup | 28 | 17 |
Pineapple, raw, ½ cup | 28 | 37 |
Kale, cooked, ½ cup | 27 | 18 |
Mango, ½ cup | 23 | 54 |
Vitamin A for growth and bone development
In humans, an exogenous source of vitamin A is required for growth (hormones and others) and bone development, vision, reproduction, and the integrity of mucosal and epithelial surfaces. In the retina, retinol is converted to the aldehyde, cis-retinal, which combines with opsin to form rhodopsin, and visual pigment. Vitamin A has been reported to act as a cofactor in various biochemical reactions including mucopolysaccharide synthesis, cholesterol synthesis, and hydroxysteroid metabolism.
Cholesterol synthesis happens during the night and so is Vitamin A. Women should especially sleep before 10pm to follow the normal body rhythm and hormone production. Cholesterol and Vitamin A are important in hormone production.
Vitamin A is essential for growth and bone development in children, for vision (particularly in dim light), and for integrity of mucosal and epithelial surfaces.
Vitamin A deficiency leads to xerophthalmia, Bitot’s spots, keratomalacia, night blindness (nyctalopia), hyperkeratosis of the skin, epithelial metaplasia of mucous membranes, and decreased resistance to infections. Administration of vitamin A completely reverses signs of vitamin deficiency unless keratomalacia has resulted in irreversible ocular damage.
Retinol inhibited the mutagenic activity of aflatoxin b1 when added to the Ames salmonella/mammalian microsome assay.
Concurrent use of vitamin E may facilitate absorption, hepatic storage, and utilization of vitamin A, and reduce toxicity; excessive doses may deplete vitamin A stores.
Concurrent use /of tetracycline/ with vitamin A 50,000 Units a day and higher has been reported to cause benign intracranial hypertension.
Vitamin A administration induces a high risk of intoxication in patients with chronic renal failure.
From epidemiological research it is argued that low vitamin A intake is associated with a higher incidence of cancer in different tissues.
Food Sources of Vitamin A ranked by micrograms Retinol Activity Equivalents (RAE) of vitamin A per standard amount; also calories in the standard amount. (All are ≥ 20% of RDA for adult men, which is 900 mg/day RAE.)
Food Sources
Whole Food, Standard Amount | Vitamin A (μg RAE) |
Calories |
Organ meats (liver, giblets), various, cooked, 3 oza | 1490-9126 | 134-235 |
Carrot juice, ¾ cup | 1692 | 71 |
Sweetpotato with peel, baked, 1 medium | 1096 | 103 |
Pumpkin, canned, ½ cup (and yams are happy food) | 953 | 42 |
Carrots, cooked from fresh, ½ cup | 671 | 27 |
Spinach, cooked from frozen, ½ cup | 573 | 30 |
Collards, cooked from frozen, ½ cup | 489 | 31 |
Kale, cooked from frozen, ½ cup | 478 | 20 |
Mixed vegetables, canned, ½ cup | 474 | 40 |
Turnip greens, cooked from frozen, ½ cup | 441 | 24 |
Instant cooked cereals, fortified, prepared, 1 packet | 285-376 | 75-97 |
Various ready-to-eat cereals, with added vit. A, ~1 oz | 180-376 | 100-117 |
Carrot, raw, 1 small | 301 | 20 |
Beet greens, cooked, ½ cup (for hormonal balance) | 276 | 19 |
Winter squash, cooked, ½ cup | 268 | 38 |
Dandelion greens, cooked, ½ cup | 260 | 18 |
Cantaloupe, raw, ¼ medium melon | 233 | 46 |
Mustard greens, cooked, ½ cup | 221 | 11 |
Pickled herring, 3 oz | 219 | 222 |
Red sweet pepper, cooked, ½ cup | 186 | 19 |
Chinese cabbage, cooked, ½ cup | 180 | 10 |
Note: For those with thyroid problems, cooked your greens and most veggies.