Vitamins and minerals provide our body with essential nutrients and keep us in good health. (Read how to get essential vitamins from foods). While we need to take all of them from different sources, it is important to keep a track of what we eat to monitor how much of each vitamin are we getting as each of them has a different function. Vitamin A which is responsible for healthy hair, strong bones and tissues, good vision and beautiful skin, is found in various foods. Vitamin A is also packed with beta-carotene and antioxidants — read how they prevent cancer. These also help in getting rid of harmful free radicals. Here are some of its sources.

Sources of vitamin A

Green leafy vegetables: Veggies like spinach, broccoli, kale, etc are all great sources of vitamin A. A good way to consume them is by making a healthy broth of all of these together and drinking it in the morning. This can be your power drink of the day to energise you and also keep you healthy. It works for your skin and hair too. Read how to juice vegetables.

Carrots: You must have heard your mum asking you to eat carrots for your eyes. This is because even a single, small carrot has enough vitamin A to fulfil your daily intake. They are one of the best sources to get vitamin A. Eat them raw or add to a salad or make vegetable juice – the choice is yours but eat at least one every day. Still not convinced? Read 10 reasons to eat carrots.

Pumpkin: A 100g serving of pumpkin can give you 170% of your daily vitamin A intake. It contains alpha-carotene and beta-carotene which are forms of vitamin A. These not only increase immunity but also help in skin cell renewal keeping signs of ageing at bay. Try making a healthy pumpkin apple soup.

Sweet potato: Called shakkarkand in Hindi, sweet potato is enjoyed as a snack especially during winters. The vegetable is an excellent source of vitamin A – one sweet potato is enough to give you your daily vitamin A intake. It has beta-carotene which will protect you from free radical damage.

Dried apricots: Compared to the foods mentioned above, dried apricots have lesser amounts of vitamin A content. Nevertheless, they are a substantially rich source. They too have carotenoids and antioxidants and a handful of these give about 50% of daily vitamin A requirement.