Vit A for sun damage

I've mentioned in previous posts that my upbringing under the African sun left me with permanent skin damage and recurrent nonmelanoma basal cell cancer.

Now a new study found that you can substantially reduce your risk of developing skin cancer if you increase your intake of Vitamin A.

Vitamin A is essential to the health of your eyes, bones, skin and immune system. Here are some vitamin A basics:

• Fruits and vegetables with orange and yellow coloring, and green leafy vegetables contain beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A
• The body poorly converts beta-carotene into vitamin A
• The best dietary sources of vitamin A are animal products, such as eggs and liver
• Cod liver oil is an excellent natural source of vitamin A
• The problems with vitamin A toxicity are associated with supplements of synthetic vitamin A taken in high doses

Scientists at the Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona (UA), USA, reported that a previous study showed that vitamin A supplements significantly reduced the risk of squamous cell skin cancer in patients with moderately severe actinic keratoses which developes from occasional sunburns.

10,000 IU of beta-carotene vitamin A per day is adequate for most people.