Every guy knows that it’s crucial to his health to get the proper amount of vitamins, but not every guy knows what those vitamins do. Take vitamin A, for example. How much does the average guy know about this vitamin? Or how he can make sure he gets enough of it? Or what benefits (if any) it has for penis health? For most guys, vitamin A is nothing more than something they heard about long ago, maybe in a high school health class or when trying to score a date with that leggy nutritionist.
What is Vitamin A?
Surprisingly, vitamin A doesn’t refer to a single nutrient; rather, it is (to quote the National Institutes of Health) “the name of a group of fat-soluble retinoids, including retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and retinyl esters.” In layman’s terms, this means that vitamin A refers to a bunch of nutrients that go by different names. The name that is probably most familiar to the general public is beta-carotene, one of a group of nutrients in the family carotenoid that the body converts into vitamin A, which comes in certain plant sources of food. (For the record, the form of vitamin A derived from animal sources is called retinoids.)
What Foods Contain Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is found in many different foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Probably the single biggest source of vitamin A is the sweet potato; one serving of these tubers contains a whopping 213.5% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A. Carrots (113.2%) and spinach (104.8%) are also great for vitamin A intake. Other vegetables fall below the 100% mark, but such familiar dietary items as kale, greens, winter squash and cantaloupe can help a guy meet his RDA for this vitamin.
As for animal-based foods, milk, eggs and shrimp are among the best bets for getting a little vitamin A.
What are the Benefits?
Remember all those stories about carrots being good for the eyes? Turns out they’re true; the vitamin A from carrots and other food sources can play a big role in maintaining vision health, due to its ability to affect photopigments in the eyes.
Beyond that, vitamin A is known to help immune system function, which translates into improved ability to ward off colds, infections, etc. The immune system creates antibodies to go after bacteria and other causes of inflammation; vitamin A plays an essential role in making this process work more smoothly and effectively. Therefore, a guy with a health supply of vitamin A is likely to be healthier overall.
The bones need vitamin A as well, since this nutrient is a strong supplier of the calcium that bones require to grow, develop and repair. Skin health is also improved by absorbing adequate amounts of vitamin A. Too little of it can cause skin to develop a flaky or scaly appearance; it can also worsen cases of acne.
Vitamin A and Penis Health
Men should also be interested in vitamin A for the effects it can have on penis health. There are two ways in which vitamin A benefits the penis. First, it is necessary for proper sperm formation; studies have linked vitamin A deficiency to a decrease in spermatogenesis, which can make impregnation more difficult to achieve.
Second, vitamin A’s blessed anti-bacterial properties can aid both the look and the smell of the penis. The dermatological benefits mentioned above can impact the kind of dry, flaky penis skin that is a turn-off to partners (current or potential). Equally important, those same properties help diminish the bacteria that can cause unwanted and off-putting penis odors. Unpleasant male organ aromas are one of the most frequent complaints from women.
Men interested in using vitamin A to target the penis are advised to locate and use a quality penis health crème (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil) that includes this vitamin in its ingredient list. The use of a topical cream helps to ensure delivery to the penis; this is especially valuable where skin quality or odor issues are of concern.