Saturday, March 19, 2011

Vitamin A: Immune System Enhancer

Vitamin A seems to top the A-list of nutrients that are vital for a strong immune system.
While studying the effects of vitamin A in children, doctors observed that even a moderate deficiency can weaken the immune defenses of a child's respiratory tract. Vitamin A deficiency causes damage to the naturally protective mucous membrane barrier of the respiratory tract,
and it's thought that bacteria and viruses take advantage of that damage.  
How might that affect a child's health? Doctor’s research showed that after a flu virus attacks, for example, the lining of a normal throat will repair itself. Not so in those who are vitamin A - deficient. Instead, a person might get that once-healthy cell replaced by an abnormal cell. That may predispose a person to having a more severe episode of an infection or having another infection on top of a viral infection. The link between vitamin A deficiency and the severity of respiratory disease was very well established.

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