Susan Sullivan Vitamin A Summary

The article, "Vitamin A", is written by Susan Sullivan, who is the associate director of the

University of Maine. Vitamin A is a major nutrient associated with healthy skin and eyes,

growth, and immune system function. It is essential for reproduction and the growth of children.

Ms. Sullivan writes about the different forms, symptoms of deficiency, toxicity, and the history

of vitamin A. The article main purpose is to provide information on the importance of vitamin A

to your body if you follow the United States National Academy of Medicine's recommendation

of dietary allowance.

The article begins with the discussion of two types of vitamin A found in food called

preformed and provitamin. Preformed vitamin A can be located

Next, Sullivan describes how the lack of this vitamin can result in a

vitamin deficiency disease. It may take one to two years to cause symptoms because the body

stores vitamin A in fat tissue. Some symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency are problems of the skin

and mucous membranes, poor growth in children, skeletal abnormalities, and weakening of the

immune system. The article further argues that the toxicity of consuming too much vitamin A

and how it can also be harmful, as the vitamin can build up in the body to toxic amounts. The

buildup of too much vitamin A may give skin a yellow or orange coloration in the palms and the

soles of the feet. Lastly, she briefly writes about the history of the studied of essential nutrients

as early as the early 1800's. In 1932, the Swiss chemist, Paul Karrer, discovered the chemical

structure of vitamin A.

The article by Ms. Sullivan possesses interesting information on Vitamin A in an easy-to-

read language. She uses bullet points to organize her topics of discussion and that made it easy

to follow her facts on the nutrient. The length of the article of 10 condense paragraphs is also

sufficient to the topic without overwhelming the readers with too much