Plant Sources for Retinoids
Red and orange vegetables and fruits such as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pumpkins, cantaloupes, apricots, peaches and mangoes all contain significant amounts of beta-carotene, thus retinoids.
The biggest thing to understand is that retinol, as you've traditionally known it, is usually derived from animal sources like beef, chicken liver, eggs, and fish, but it can also be found in many plants and vegetables like cantaloupe, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.
Eggs, and specifically egg yolks, are one of the richest sources of retinol, the biologically active form of vitamin A.
Retinol Sources
A 3-ounce serving of shrimp has 46 micrograms, while salmon, flounder and chicken breast are in the range of 6 to 10 micrograms per 3-ounce serving. You'll only get 2 micrograms of retinol from the same portion of light-meat turkey or roast beef.
Results The raw egg yolk retinol concentrations of free-range and caged hen eggs were 476.53+/-39.44 and 474.93+/-41.10 microg/100 g and cooked egg yolk concentrations were 393.53+/-24.74 and 379.01+/-30.78 microg/100 g, respectively; quail egg concentration was 636.56+/-32.71 microg retinol/100 g.
It comes in two forms: retinol, which is mostly found in animal products, and provitamin A or beta-carotene, which is found in red, yellow, and some green fruits and vegetables.
Although 100 grams of cooked carrot contain about 17,000 IU vitamin A, that's only 852 micrograms of retinol activity equivalents (RAE).
Overview. Vitamin A (retinol, retinoic acid) is a nutrient important to vision, growth, cell division, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties.
These results suggest that a 150 g serving of boiled golden potatoes has the potential to contribute 42% and 23% of the daily requirement of retinol activity equivalents (RAE), as well as 34 and 17% of the daily vitamin E requirement for children and women of reproductive age, respectively.
Retinol is a gentler derivative of vitamin A and can be found in lots of over-the-counter skin care products (i.e. moisturizers, serums, eye creams). Because retinol is milder, the enzymes in our skin must first convert it into retinoic acid. Once it's been converted, then it will be become effective.
Citrus Fruits
Citrus fruits — such as oranges, clementines, and lemons — check off at least six of the eight B vitamins. They contain: Thiamin (B1) Riboflavin (B2)
Vitamin D is one of the best vitamins for your skin, along with vitamins C, E, and K. Making sure you get enough vitamins can keep your skin looking healthy and youthful. This could translate to a reduction in: dark spots.
Raw citrus fruits are very high in vitamin C. One medium orange provides 70 mg of Vitamin C, while one grapefruit provides about 56 mg. Citrus fruit juices contain even higher amounts of vitamin C, with a 225 mg glass of orange juice providing around 125 mg of vitamin C.
Legumes (beans, lentils) Seeds and nuts (sunflower seeds, almonds) Dark, leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kai lan) Fruits (citrus fruits, avocados, bananas)
Raw milk, full fat milk, semi-skimmed milk and butter contain about 10 μg retinol and 6 g carotenoids per g fat. Values for retinol equivalents in milk are 10–20% higher than the values published in the Dutch food composition table.
Raw milk (4.4% fat) contains on average 40 μg retinol and 20 μg carotenoids per 100 g. Full fat milk (standardized to 3.5% fat) and semi-skimmed milk (standardized to 1.5% fat) contain 34 and 14 μg/100 g retinol and 18 and 9 μg/100 g carotenoids, respectively.
Pumpkin delivers tons of vitamin A no matter how you consume it. One cup of puree will give you 14,100 IU of retinol and 0.706 milligrams of beta-carotene.