Beta-carotene is an orange-coloured plant compound discovered in many fruits and veggies, especially carrots. Like all other carotenoids, beta-carotene is a strong antioxidant able of scavenging potentially dangerous free radicals. Your physique can convert beta-carotene into retinol -- generally recognized as vitamin A -- if required. The absorption and conversion of beta-carotene is dependent on numerous elements.
Conversion to Retinol
Beta-carotene is known as a provitamin A simply because your physique can change it into vitamin A or retinol when storage ranges in your liver are reduced. Other carotenoids this kind of as alpha-carotene also can be transformed. As soon as in your little intestine, beta-carotene is cleaved or reduce by a particular enzyme into two molecules of retinol. The conversion and absorption efficiency of retinol is relatively reduced -- between 9 percent and 22 % -- and depends on numerous factors, this kind of as the need for vitamin A, intestinal well being, bile manufacturing and the quantity of nutritional body fat in the intestines. Retinol is a body fat-soluble vitamin, which means it requirements some fat to be absorbed and stored in the physique. If retinol is not required by your body, beta-carotene is not cleaved in fifty percent inside the small intestine. Rather, it is absorbed intact and stored mainly inside subcutaneous fat just beneath your pores and skin.
Changing Units
Vitamin A used to be measured in worldwide models, which was fine to account for retinol from animal-based meals or supplements, but a new measurement was produced to account for your body’s ability to change beta-carotene and other carotenoids into retinol equivalents. The conversion agreed on by American researchers is one retinol equivalent equals either three.33 worldwide models of vitamin A activity directly from retinol or 10 worldwide models of vitamin A action from beta-carotene. In other words, retinol from meat or dietary supplements is approximated to be 3 occasions more effectively used as vitamin A by your physique compared to beta-carotene from vegetation or supplements. This conversion is only an estimate because of the cleavage and absorption variability in the little intestine.
Security of Beta-Carotene
Even though beta-carotene is not the most effective way of supplying your physique with vitamin A, it is much safer than taking retinol directly. In large doses, retinol can be toxic, whereas beta-carotene is non-poisonous in its natural type and not converted to vitamin A unless of course your body requirements it. You cannot overdose on beta-carotene. The primary downside to taking as well a lot beta-carotene is that your pores and skin may briefly turn orange -- a condition known as carotenosis.
