We all know vitamin A, along with C and E, is one of the most important of all the vitamins. So it’s good to know its importance – even before birth – is now recognized.
According to a recent report in The New England Journal of Medicine, there is a link between a newborn baby’s lung function and whether the mother took a vitamin A supplement during pregnancy.
This was as a result of research at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The study reports: “Lung function of offspring in mothers who received maternal vitamin A supplementation improved by about 40 ml versus those whose mothers received a placebo. This represents an approximately 3 percent increase in lung function. Furthermore, the magnitude of effect observed in this study is slightly greater than that associated with preventing exposure to parental smoking in school-age children.”
But there is a sting in the tail.
Now the crying of a new born baby, lungs fortified with that extra vitamin A, will be all the more lusty, when it’s time for the 2.30 AM feed!
Best known source of Vitamin A are carrots, where the beta-carotene – which gives the orange color – is the precursor of vitamin A. Lightly steaming them releases up to five times more beta-carotene then when eaten raw.
Other sources include cantaloupe (melon) – go for the red-fleshed ones – squash, spinach and sweet potatoes.
