Which foods are high in vitamin A and beta-carotene?

Vitamin A comes from food in two forms. Animal foods contain it ready-made as retinol: liver, eel, egg yolk, butter, cheese and milk. Plant foods contain beta-carotene, a pigment the body converts into vitamin A: carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, dark leafy greens such as coriander, basil, pak choi and water convolvulus (morning glory), and ripe mango and papaya. Per 100 g, raw pork liver has 6,502 µg RAE of vitamin A and raw carrots 835 µg RAE. The Thai Reference Daily Intake (Thai RDI) for vitamin A is 800 µg RAE a day.

In short:

• Highest per 100 g (retinol): liver of duck, pork, cattle and chicken; eel; butter; egg yolk; cheese
• Highest per 100 g (beta-carotene): carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, spinach, pumpkin, coriander leaves, sweet basil, pak choi
• Thai foods measured in studies: nine Thai mango cultivars and 20 vegetables used in Thai cooking
• Daily amount: Thai RDI 800 µg RAE
• Upper limit: set for retinol (preformed vitamin A); none set for beta-carotene; the US Food and Nutrition Board advises against beta-carotene supplements for the general population, except as a source of vitamin A

This article is a table-based guide to how much vitamin A and beta-carotene foods contain. For how beta-carotene compares with lutein and astaxanthin in structure, and how beta-carotene is counted as vitamin A, see How do astaxanthin, beta-carotene and lutein differ?

What are retinol and beta-carotene?

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), part of the US National Institutes of Health, describes vitamin A as a group of fat-soluble retinoids, mainly retinol and retinyl esters. It says the human diet has two sources of vitamin A.

Two forms in food

The ODS notes that in the intestine both forms are taken up in tiny droplets called micelles, and that provitamin A carotenoids are converted to retinol after absorption.

Vitamin A contributes to normal growth and contributes to the maintenance of normal skin and mucous membranes.

What does RAE mean?

Food tables and the Thai RDI give vitamin A in micrograms of retinol activity equivalents (µg RAE). The ODS explains that this unit accounts for the different activity of retinol and of provitamin A carotenoids, so that one number covers both forms. That is why, in the tables below, a plant food can have several thousand micrograms of beta-carotene but a much smaller RAE value. For the word "retinol" on skincare labels, see Is retinol the same thing as dietary vitamin A?

Which animal foods are high in vitamin A (retinol)?

Animal foods contain vitamin A mostly as retinol. The UK's NHS lists cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk and yoghurt, and liver and liver products as good sources, and describes liver as a particularly rich source.

Retinol foods per 100 g

The figures come from the US Department of Agriculture's FoodData Central database (SR Legacy), per 100 g of the food as described. The last column compares the vitamin A value with the Thai RDI of 800 µg RAE.

Liver stands far above every other food in the table, because the liver is where animals store vitamin A. The ODS explains that the human body also stores excess vitamin A, mainly in the liver. Among fish, eel has much more retinol than lean white fish such as tilapia.

Why does milk differ between products?

FoodData Central lists milk with and without added vitamin A. Whole milk without added vitamin A has 46 µg RAE per 100 g. Some milks have vitamin A added, so the amount differs between products.

Which plant foods are high in beta-carotene?

Beta-carotene gives orange, yellow and dark green foods much of their colour. The NHS lists yellow, red and green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes and red peppers, and yellow fruit, such as mango, papaya and apricots.

Beta-carotene foods per 100 g

FoodData Central gives a beta-carotene value for most of these foods; for amaranth leaves, drumstick leaves and water convolvulus it gives only the vitamin A value (marked "–").

Herbs such as coriander and basil are high per 100 g, but they are eaten a few leaves at a time, so the next section looks at usual servings. Thai varieties and growing conditions can give different amounts from these US values.

How much vitamin A is in a usual serving?

Vitamin A per serving

The serving weights are the household measures listed in FoodData Central; the amounts are the per-100 g values above scaled to that weight and rounded (for hard-boiled egg, from FoodData Central's value of 149 µg RAE per 100 g). The last column compares each serving with the Thai RDI of 800 µg RAE.

A small portion of liver gives more than a full day's Thai RDI, while eggs, milk and cheese give smaller amounts that add up across meals. The table shows what one portion contains; it is not a guide to how much of any food to eat.

Does cooking change vitamin A and beta-carotene?

Cooking changes the figures in two ways: the amount in 100 g of food, and how much the body can release from it.

Raw and cooked figures in food tables

In FoodData Central, 100 g of boiled carrots has 8,332 µg of beta-carotene, about the same as the 8,285 µg in raw carrots. Boiled pumpkin has 2,096 µg per 100 g, compared with 3,100 µg raw, and boiled water convolvulus 260 µg RAE, compared with 315 µg RAE raw. Cooked chicken liver (simmered) has 3,981 µg RAE per 100 g, more than raw, because cooking removes water.

How much beta-carotene is released from vegetables

A 2006 laboratory study from the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore, India, measured beta-carotene at 9.15 mg per 100 g in fenugreek leaves, 8.17 mg in amaranth, 8.14 mg in carrot and 1.90 mg in pumpkin. Using a simulated digestion in test tubes, it measured the share of beta-carotene that moved from the vegetable into tiny fat droplets (micelles) in the model: 6.7% (fenugreek leaves) to 20.3% (carrot). In the cooked samples, stir-frying with a small amount of oil raised that measured share by 263% for fenugreek leaves, 192% for amaranth, 63% for carrot and 53% for pumpkin, and pressure-cooking raised it by 100%, 48% and 19% for fenugreek, amaranth and carrot. The study used a laboratory model, not people, and Indian vegetable samples.

What have studies found in Thai fruit and vegetables?

Nine Thai mango cultivars

A 2005 study from the University of Hohenheim in Germany ripened nine Thai mango cultivars under the same conditions after harvest and measured their beta-carotene. Only four cultivars turned bright yellow-orange inside when fully ripe, and they had much more beta-carotene than the paler ones. The study also found that 14% to 40% of the total beta-carotene was in cis forms, depending on the cultivar.

The figures are per 100 g of dry weight, so they are higher than values for fresh mango, and they came from fruit ripened in one study. They show that the colour of the flesh tracks its beta-carotene.

Twenty vegetables used in Thai cooking

A 2023 study from the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, with Thailand's Department of Agriculture analysed 20 vegetables and herbs used in Thai cuisine, collected according to the Department of Agriculture's recommendations, using standard AOAC methods. The highest total carotenoids were found in culantro (phak chi farang), yi-ra (Ocimum gratissimum), coriander and sweet basil, at 75.23 to 119.96 mg per 100 g of dry weight. The researchers report that the place where samples were collected had little effect on the results. The values are for dried plant material and for total carotenoids, not beta-carotene alone.

How much vitamin A do you need a day, and how much is too much?

The Thai RDI for vitamin A is 800 µg RAE a day, for the general population aged 3 and over. It counts vitamin A from all foods. For the Thai reference amounts of other nutrients, see What are the Thai daily reference amounts for each nutrient?

Upper limits

The ODS says the US upper limits apply only to vitamin A from animal foods and to supplements whose vitamin A is all retinol or its esters, such as retinyl palmitate.

Liver once a week

The NHS says that eating liver or liver products, such as pâté, more than once a week may give too much vitamin A, and that people who eat liver every week should not take supplements containing vitamin A. It advises people who are pregnant to avoid liver and liver products.

Beta-carotene

The ODS says no upper limit has been set for beta-carotene. With long-term high intake, the skin can turn yellow-orange, and the ODS says this goes away when intake stops. The ODS also says the US Food and Nutrition Board advises against beta-carotene supplements for the general population, except as a source of vitamin A, and that trials in which current and former smokers took high doses of beta-carotene supplements found harmful effects.

Who should talk to a doctor or pharmacist?

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

The ODS says people who are or might be pregnant, and those who are breastfeeding, should not take high doses of vitamin A supplements (more than 3,000 µg RAE a day). If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking any dietary supplement.

People who take regular medication

Some medicines contain retinoids, which are related to vitamin A. If you take medication regularly, ask a doctor or pharmacist before adding vitamin A.

Dietary supplements are not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease.