What Causes A Vitamin A Deficiency?

Vitamin A is a key vitamin to sustain health at any age. It is important for a variety of processes in the body including maintaining the immune system and organs, maintaining vision, while also helping babies develop while in utero. It can help protect an individual's vision from night blindness and other age-related sigh deterioration like macular degeneration. Consuming proper amounts of vitamin A is also helpful to reduce the likeliness of certain cancers. Vitamin A helps the body maintain equilibrium for cell growth and development, preventing cells from growing and dividing in an uncontrolled way. It is also necessary for keeping a healthy immune system by keeping the production of white blood cells high while also helping the mucus barriers defend the body against infection.

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Pancreatic Insufficiency

When the pancreas functions correctly, it secretes a group of proteins into the small intestine to help with digestion. When the pancreas doesn't produce enough of these proteins and enzymes, the body is unable to break down the food into nutrients the body can absorb. This will eventually lead to deficiencies throughout the body, including a vitamin a deficiency, that can have serious side effects. Symptoms of pancreatic insufficiency include steatorrhea otherwise known as fatty stools. This happens because the intestinal tract isn't able to absorb the fats in the diet. It is marked by abdominal pain, fullness, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. It can also have symptoms of muscle cramps and pain in the bones. Pancreatic insufficiency can be treated by reducing the amount of fat in the blood levels, reducing alcohol use, stimulation of the duct drainage, and surgery. Using antioxidant supplements like selenium, and vitamin A can reduce inflammation of the pancreas.

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