[3-Minute Summary from Yakal💊]

If you're not a smoker, Beta-carotene form is the safest and most ideal.
More than 3000Î¼g RAE per day can actually become toxic to your body. If you're pregnant, you need to follow even stricter guidelines of 900Î¼g RAE or less.
Soft gel form has the best absorption, and if it contains additional ingredients, it can create a synergistic effect for eye health.

At 11 PM, vitamin A was sitting in my Coupang shopping cart.

40 minutes had passed since I started searching. Seven tabs were open, all the reviews were good, and the ingredient lists all looked similar.

But I just went ahead and purchased the one with a 4.8-star rating. Even after buying it, I wasn't sure if I'd made a good choice.

Hello, this is Eojungi from Yakal.

Actually, 4 criteria are enough to choose vitamin A.

Vitamin A comes in different 'forms'

Not all vitamin A is the same.

When you look at the ingredient label on supplements, the names are written slightly differently, There are broadly three forms.

First, there's beta-carotene. It comes from plant-based sources and is converted to vitamin A in your body only when needed.

It's like having parts in a box that are assembled only at the moment they're needed. I'll explain why this ingredient is important later.

Next, there's retinyl palmitate. It comes from animal-based sources and can be used immediately upon entering your body.

It's delivered in an already finished form.

Finally, fish liver oil, that is, natural vitamin A extracted from fish liver.

'If you feel that 'artificial ingredients are difficult,' you can look for this form.

Among these, what Yakal recommends first is beta-carotene. I'll explain the reason in detail in the next section.

However, if you're a smoker, things are different. If you smoke, you should avoid beta-carotene form.

In a lung environment affected by smoking, beta-carotene can actually have a harmful effect on your body according to research results.

Studies also include information about increased risk of lung cancer. If you smoke, choose retinyl palmitate or fish liver oil instead.

If you want to know more details about how each vitamin A ingredient differs,?

👉 [see "How to Choose Vitamin A Ingredients"] .

Actually, dosage is the most important factor

When choosing vitamin A, the first thing to check is how much is contained.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. Fat-soluble means it doesn't dissolve in water but dissolves in oil.

Water-soluble vitamins are excreted in urine even if you consume excess amounts, but fat-soluble vitamins are not. Once it enters your body, it continues to accumulate.

That's why taking more isn't necessarily better. In fact, excess becomes toxic.

For adults, the maximum daily intake is 3000Î¼g RAE. I don't recommend products exceeding this.

Some foreign products come in high doses like 7500Î¼g RAE, and such products are designed for people who actually have vitamin A deficiency.

If you're eating a normal diet, you don't need such high doses.

Pregnant women have stricter guidelines. There are research results showing that consuming 3000Î¼g RAE per day increases the rate of birth defects.

If you're pregnant, consuming 900Î¼g RAE or less per dayis safe.

비타민A 무턱대고 많이 먹는다고 좋은 게 아니에요. 오히려 넘치면 독이 됩니다.

And if you want a bit more peace of mind, choosing a product made with beta-carotene is one approach.

Beta-carotene is simply excreted when your body has sufficient vitamin A. Since it's a self-regulating form, concerns about toxicity are relatively lower.

However, this combination doesn't apply to smokers. For the reasons mentioned earlier.

The same ingredient can differ depending on what it's packaged in

Vitamin A supplements come in various forms. Some look like pills, while others are covered with a gel-like membrane.

As we mentioned, vitamin A is fat-soluble, meaning it's well absorbed by your body when accompanied by oil.

That's why the best form is one where the vitamin is dissolved in oil and wrapped in a soft capsule.

On such products, soft gel it says "soft gel". If you see "soft gel" on the ingredient label or product name, it's the best choice in terms of absorption rate.

There are actually studies showing that soft gel is absorbed better by your body than regular tablets or powder forms.

As such, even the same ingredient can result in different amounts being delivered to your body depending on its packaging.

비타민A, 성분표나 제품명에 soft gel이 보이면, 흡수율 측면에서 가장 좋은 선택이에요.

Also take a look at the additional ingredients

When you look at supplement ingredient labels, there are cases where various ingredients are included along with vitamin A. These are called additional ingredients.

Lutein, Astaxanthin Products containing fruit or vegetable extracts like these exist, and these ingredients are mostly ones that help with eye health.

Since vitamin A itself is a vitamin related to eye health, taking it together with these additional ingredients creates a synergistic effect.

There are also combination products that contain both vitamin A and D .

Both are fat-soluble vitamins, and, there are studies showing that taking them together strengthens effects toward antioxidant action, eye health, skin health, and immunity.

However, if you're already taking a separate vitamin D supplement, you need to be careful. Since vitamin D is also fat-soluble, taking it with a combination product means it will accumulate double.

When switching to a combination product, it's better to first stop the vitamin D you were taking and switch to the combination product.

이미 비타민 D 영양제를 따로 먹고 있다면 비타민 A+D 복합제 복용시 조심해야 해요.

If you're curious about the criteria for choosing vitamin E, another fat-soluble vitamin,?

👉 [read "Vitamin E Supplement Evaluation Criteria Revealed"].

To summarize vitamin A in four points:?

Beta-carotene form is the most ideal. If you're a smoker, choose retinyl palmitate or fish liver oil.
Check that the dosage doesn't exceed 3000Î¼g RAE per day. If you're pregnant, 900Î¼g RAE or less is safe.
Soft gel form has good absorption.
If the additional ingredients include components good for eye health, or if it's a combination product with vitamin D, you can get a more comprehensive boost.

If it's difficult to consider all these factors, you can also check Yakal's recommended vitamin A products.

We've comprehensively reviewed ingredients, brands, and prices and compiled them 😄

If you want to select and combine supplements that include vitamin D,?

👉 [see "How to Choose Cal-Magdi | Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D: Just Look at These 5 Things"] .

이것저것 다 따지기 어렵다면, 약알의 비타민 A 추천 제품을 한번 살펴보시는 것도 방법이에요.

Choosing a single supplement actually has quite a few things to consider when you think about it!

But once you know these criteria, next time before purchasing vitamin A, things won't feel quite so overwhelming.

This has been Eojungi from Yakal!