Vitamin A RDA Table
| Life stage | RDA (mcg RAE/day) |
|---|---|
| Infant 0–6 mo | 400 (AI) |
| Infant 7–12 mo | 500 (AI) |
| 1–3 years | 300 |
| 4–8 years | 400 |
| 9–13 years | 600 |
| 14–18 years | 900 (M) / 700 (F) |
| 19+ years | 900 (M) / 700 (F) |
| Pregnancy | 750 (≤18) / 770 (19+) |
| Lactation | 1,200 (≤18) / 1,300 (19+) |
| Upper limit, preformed retinol | 3,000 (adult) |
| Food | Portion | mcg RAE | %DV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef liver, pan-fried | 3 oz | 6,582 | 731% |
| Sweet potato, baked | 1 cup | 1,560 | 173% |
| Spinach, frozen, boiled | 1/2 cup | 573 | 64% |
| Carrots, raw | 1/2 cup | 459 | 51% |
| Ricotta cheese, whole milk | 1 cup | 263 | 29% |
| Herring, cooked | 3 oz | 219 | 24% |
| Milk, skim, added vitamin A | 1 cup | 149 | 17% |
| Cantaloupe, raw | 1/2 cup | 135 | 15% |
| Red bell pepper | 1/2 cup | 117 | 13% |
| Egg, hard-boiled | 1 large | 75 | 8% |
Vitamin A is the nutrient with the widest gap between its best and worst food: a half cup of cooked spinach or carrots covers a child's whole day, while a single 3-ounce serving of beef liver delivers 6,582 mcg RAE - 731% of the Daily Value and more than twice the 3,000 mcg adult ceiling in one meal. Arctic explorers learned this the hard way from polar bear liver, which concentrates vitamin A so densely that eating it causes acute hypervitaminosis A.
The table's unit needs a second of attention: mcg RAE (retinol activity equivalents), because preformed retinol from liver, eggs and dairy counts at full strength while plant carotenoids convert at a punishing 12-to-1 - twelve micrograms of beta-carotene from food yield one RAE. That conversion is why the same sweet potato that trivially covers the RDA can never cause toxicity: the body throttles carotenoid conversion, and overdose only comes from preformed retinol or pills.
The supplement history here is a standing warning: two large trials in smokers gave beta-carotene pills expecting cancer prevention and got 18% and 28% more lung cancer instead. Deficiency, meanwhile, is the world's cruelest micronutrient problem - vitamin A deficiency remains a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness, and WHO delivers high-dose capsules across affected regions because it also worsens measles outcomes.
How to use
- Find your row: 900 mcg RAE for men and 700 for women from 19; 900 and 700 for teens 14-18; 600 at 9-13; 400 at 4-8 and 300 at 1-3; pregnancy 770 and breastfeeding 1,300 - the largest lactation jump on this family of tables.
- Cover it from the produce shelf: a cup of baked sweet potato is 1,560 mcg RAE (173% DV), cooked spinach, carrots, cantaloupe, red peppers and mango all add up fast - a normal mixed diet clears 700-900 mcg without animal products at all.
- Read the ceiling with liver in mind: the 3,000 mcg UL applies to preformed retinol, and liver blows past it in one serving - fine occasionally, but daily liver plus a retinol supplement stacks toward teratogenic territory in pregnancy, where the practical rule is no retinol supplements and liver at most once a week.
Frequently asked questions
How much vitamin A do I need per day?
The NIH RDA, in mcg RAE: 900 for men and 700 for women from 19; 900/700 for teens 14-18; 600 at ages 9-13; 400 at 4-8; 300 at 1-3; 400-500 mcg AI in infancy. Pregnancy needs 770 and breastfeeding 1,300. The ceiling (UL) is 3,000 mcg of preformed retinol for adults - lower for children (600 at ages 1-3) - and applies to retinol and retinyl esters, not to carotenoids from food.
What foods are highest in vitamin A?
Liver stands alone: 3 ounces of fried beef liver is 6,582 mcg RAE, 731% of the Daily Value - the single most concentrated nutrient serving on this whole family of tables. After it, the plant shelf carries the day-to-day load: baked sweet potato 1 cup 1,560 mcg RAE (173% DV), frozen boiled spinach 1/2 cup 573 (64%), raw carrots 1/2 cup 459 (51%), ricotta cheese 1 cup 263 (29%), herring 3 oz 219 (24%), cantaloupe 1/2 cup 135, milk 149 per cup, one hard-boiled egg 75. Pattern: one extreme animal source, then a long orange-and-green produce ramp.
What is mcg RAE - and how is it different from IU?
RAE (retinol activity equivalents) is the modern unit: 1 mcg RAE equals 1 mcg of preformed retinol, 12 mcg of dietary beta-carotene, or 24 mcg of other provitamin-A carotenoids. The older IU unit muddles the two sources together, and supplement labels still use it - roughly, 1 IU retinol = 0.3 mcg RAE. The RAE system exists precisely because the body converts plant carotenoids inefficiently and throttles the conversion, which is also why sweet potatoes and spinach cannot cause vitamin A toxicity no matter the quantity.
Can you get too much vitamin A - and what does it do?
Yes, and only one route does it: preformed retinol above the 3,000 mcg UL. Acute overdose (a polar-bear-liver-scale meal) brings headache, nausea and pressure in the skull; chronic overdose brings bone-thinning, liver damage and - critically in pregnancy - birth defects, which is why retinoid acne drugs like isotretinoin carry the strictest pregnancy controls in medicine. Chronic intake near the ceiling also links to lower bone density and hip fracture risk in older adults. Beta-carotene from food has no such ceiling.
Do beta-carotene supplements prevent cancer?
No - in smokers they did the opposite. The ATBC and CARET trials gave beta-carotene pills to smokers and asbestos workers and stopped early: lung cancer rose 18% (ATBC) and 28% (CARET), and CARET also showed more deaths from any cause. Carotenoid-rich food remains firmly protective in dietary studies; the pill form in high-risk lungs turned pro-oxidant. The standing NIH conclusion: smokers should not take beta-carotene supplements, and the general case for them never survived its trials.