Evidence supporting the use of: Vitamin A (retinol acetate)
For the health condition: Eyesight (poor)

Links: Go back one page, Tool main page, Ingredients list, Health conditions list, Body systems list

Synopsis

Source of validity: Scientific
Rating (out of 5): 5

Vitamin A (retinol acetate) is scientifically validated as essential for maintaining normal vision. Its role in eyesight is well-established through decades of biochemical, clinical, and epidemiological research. Vitamin A is a critical component of rhodopsin, a protein in the retina that absorbs light and is necessary for both low-light (scotopic) and color vision. Deficiency in vitamin A leads to night blindness—one of the earliest clinical signs—and, if prolonged, can progress to xerophthalmia and ultimately irreversible blindness due to corneal ulceration and keratomalacia.

Numerous controlled studies and public health interventions, especially in developing countries, have demonstrated that vitamin A supplementation can prevent and treat these ocular conditions. The World Health Organization recognizes vitamin A supplementation as a key strategy to prevent blindness in populations at risk of deficiency. Furthermore, the link between vitamin A and eyesight is not merely associative but causative, as demonstrated by the reversal of night blindness following supplementation in deficient individuals.

However, while vitamin A is necessary for preventing deficiency-related vision problems, there is insufficient evidence that supplementation improves eyesight in people who already have adequate vitamin A status. High doses of vitamin A can be toxic, so supplementation should be targeted to those with or at risk of deficiency.

More about Vitamin A (retinol acetate)
More about Eyesight (poor)

Products containing Vitamin A (retinol acetate)

We currently have no products on Vitabase that contain this ingredient.