Vitamin A Intakes and Food Sources of Vitamin A in Female University Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to estimate the daily intake of vitamin A in Korean female university students. Vitamin A intake was estimated using an inconsecutive 3-day dietary intake survey from 481 young women. Vitamin A intake values were calculated based on the data in USDA database. Average age, height, and weight of the subjects were 20.05 years, 162.13 cm and 54.38 kg, respectively. The subject's average intake of energy was 1645.67 kcal. The mean vitamin A, retinol and beta carotene intakes were 908.35 +/- 863.18 ug retinol equivalent/day, 199.19 +/- 166.00 ug/day and 3872.59 +/- 4972.17 ug/day, respectively. The 21.83% of the subjects consumed less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamin A. And subjects consumed 141.69% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for vitamin A. Food groups consumed with high vitamin A content in our subjects included vegetables (423.96 ug RE/day), potato and starches (213.64 ug RE/day), cereals (62.60 ug RE/day), eggs (55.17 ug RE/day) and milks (53.45 ug RE/day). The major food sources of vitamin A were sweet potato, carrot, spinach, egg, and cereal, and the top 30 foods provided 89.57% of total vitamin A. Also animal-derived food provided 9.65% of the vitamin A intake from the top 30 foods. In conclusion, judging from RNI, the vitamin A intake of the Korean female university students in this study was generally adequate. The result of our study may be used as a basis for follow-up studies of vitamin A intake like assessment of vitamin A nutritional status or evaluation of carotenoid food sources in Korean young women.

Intakes and Major Food Sources of Vitamins A and E of Korean Adults Living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province

To determine vitamin A and E intakes and their food sources, dietary intakes were collected by three consecutive 24-hour recalls from 192 adults living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Korea. The mean vitamin A, retinol and beta-carotene intakes were 1240.1 +/- 1101.1 microg retinol equivalent/day (693.3 +/- 563.2 microg retinol activity equivalent/day), 182.6 +/- 149.5 microg/day and 5443.3 +/- 6365.5 microg/day, respectively. Only 9.4% of the subjects consumed less than the Korean Estimated Average Requirement for vitamin A. The mean vitamin E intake was 6.03 +/- 2.54 mg alpha-tocopherol equivalent/day. The alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol intakes were 4.83 +/- 2.03 and 5.57 +/- 3.41 mg/day, respectively. Most of the subjects (93.8%) consumed less than the Korean Adequate Intake for vitamin E. The major food sources of vitamin A were sweet potato, carrot, red pepper powder, spinach, and citrus fruit, and the top 30 foods provided 91.5% of total Plant foods provided 81.0% and animalderived foods 10.5% of the vitamin A intake from the top 30 foods. The major food sources of vitamin E were soybean oil, red pepper powder, Ramyeon (cup noodles), spinach, and egg. The top 30 foods provided 78.0% of total vitamin E intake. Plant foods provided 61.3% and animal-derived foods 15.9% of the vitamin E intake from the top 30 foods. In conclusion, the vitamin A intake of the Korean adults in this study was ge-nerally adequate, but the vitamin E intake of many subjects was inadequate. Therefore, nutritional education may be of benefit to Korean adults to increase their vitamin E intake.

Vitamin A and Vitamin E Status of Diabetic Patients and Normal Adults in Korea

We evaluated the vitamin A and E status of type 2 diabetic patients and normal adults living in Daegu area. Dietary intakes for two non-consecutive days were measured by 24-hour recall method for 76 diabetic patients and 72 normal adults. Plasma levels of retinol and alpha-tocopherol were measured using HPLC method. Dietary intakes of vitamin A were not significantly different between the diabetic and the normal adults. However, the diabetic patients had significantly lower vitamin E intakes than the normal adults. Major food sources for vitamin A intake were red pepper powder and carrot. Half of the subjects from diabetic as well as normal adults consumed less than estimated average requirement of vitamin A. Plasma levels of retinol and tocopherol were maintained within normal ranges for most of the subjects regardless of diabetic status. Dietary intake of vitamin A was associated with vitamin E intake, however, there was no significant correlations between vitamin E intake and plasma alpha-tocopherol levels. It seems that diabetic patients should try to increase dietary intake of vitamin E, as prolonged lower-level intake of vitamin E could eventually lead to vitamin E depletion. Further studies are needed to identify the magnitude of dietary variance at individual and seasonal levels, and to understand the discrepancies in dietary intake and plasma levels before establishing the dietary reference intake based on Korean dietary pattern.

Dietary plant food and socioeconomic determinants of vitamin A status : study in rural lactating woman during crisis in Central Java.

For the Longer term food-based approaches for controlling vitamin A deficiency and its consequences, become increasingly important. A nutrition survailance system in Central-Java, Indonesia assessed vitamin A intake and serum retinol concentration of lactating women with a child ≤36 mo old during crisis. Median vitamin A intake was 319 RE/d and night blindness 0,34%. Serum retinol concentration (mean : 1,23 µmol/L) was related to vitamin A intake in a dose-concentration manner. The multiple logistic regression model for predicting the chance for a serum retinol concentration > observed median of the population (≥1,27 µ mol/L) included determinant factors, vitamin A intake from plant foods (OR [95% CI] per quartile, 1st : 1.00, 2nd: 1,63 [0,99-2,80], 3rd: 1,99 [1,58-2,99], and 4th: 2,62 [1,68-4,04], from, animal foods (1st and 2nd: 1,00. 3rd: 1,37 [0,89-2,09] and 4th: 2,86 [1,59-3,98] ). Homegardening (no 1,00, yes 1,88 [1,08-2,68] ) and woman’s education level (≤ primary school : 1,00 ≥ secondary school : 1,46 [1,00-2,16] ). Thus, although contributing 16 times more to total vitamin A intake plant foods were as important for vitamin A status as animal foods. Homegardening and woman’s education level seem to reflect longer-term consumption of plant and animal foods respectively.

Vitamin A Intake of Exclusively Breast-Fed Infants in Cheongju and Anseong areas

This study was longitudinally conducted to evaluate vitamin A intake of exclusively breast-fed infants compared with the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for Korean infants. Twenty-seven Korean lactating women and their infants during the first 6 months of lactation in Cheongju and Anseong areas were participated. Retinol and beta-carotene contents in the milk were determined using HPLC and also the milk consumption of the infants was measured by the test-weighing methods. Vitamin A (retinol and beta-carotene) contents of the milk were 65.7, 57.2, 48.1, 43.9, 38.2, 38.7 and 44.0 R.E./100 ml, and vitamin A intakes of the breast-fed infants were 361, 402, 348, 331, 304, 305 and 322 R.E./day at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 month of lactation, respectively. The average intake of vitamin A was 339.1 R.E./day and the percentage to RDA was 96.9% during 6 months. Vitamin A intakes per body weight of the breast-fed infants were 96.7, 88.3, 62.1, 50.0, 41.8, 39.3 and 39.6 R.E./kg/day at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 month. The body weight increased normally from 3.4 +/- 0.5 kg at birth during lactation. It is suggested that the breast-fed infants in Cheongju and Anseong areas consumed adequately vitamin A from the milk compared with RDA for Korean infants.