10 Top Real Food Sources of Vitamin A

We all know Vitamin A is a key nutrient for keeping our eyes healthy and our vision keen. But that's not all it's good for. vitamin A helps promote bone growth, keeps the immune system strong, fights disease as a powerful antioxidant -- and maintains a vigorous reproductive system.

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for adult men is 900 mg and 700 mg for adult women.

Here are the top 10 food sources for vitamin A, according to the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

After organ meats, which have as much as 9,000 milligrams of vitamin A, the reliable carrot is the number 1 source of this essential nutrient. (It's also a top source of lycopene, a cancer-fighting phytonutrient.)

Whether you like to eat or drink your carrots, this root vegetable is an excellent source of vitamin A. One three-quarter cup of carrot juice has 1,692 milligrams of the nutrient and 71 calories. And half a cup of cooked carrots has 671 milligrams of vitamin A and just 27 calories.

Carrot recipes to try:
• Maple-Ginger Glazed Carrots
• Rosemary Roast Chicken and Orange-Scallion Carrots
• Orange-Braised Carrots and Parsnips

One medium sweet potato has 1,096 milligrams of vitamin A and 103 calories — just don't forget to eat the skin too!

Eat sweet potatoes baked, or try them in these recipes:
• Roasted Sweet-Potato Casserole with Praline Streusel
• Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• African Sweet Potato-Peanut Stew

If you shy away from the dessert tray, here's a reason to eat more pumpkin pie: Half a cup of canned pumpkin has 953 milligrams of vitamin A and only 42 calories.

Pumpkin recipes to try:
• Pumpkin Chowder
• Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins
• Pumpkin and Cauliflower Casserole
• Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream

It may not have the yellow or orange color that's the hallmark of the other big beta carotene sources, but one half cup of spinach offers a healthy 573 milligrams of vitamin A and only 30 calories.

While you can always sauté some spinach or add it to your salad, try some of these recipes for a healthy twist:
• Spinach and Ricotta Dumplings
• Spinach & Artichoke Baked Pasta
• Spinach and Jack Cheese Bread Pudding
• Spinach and Mandarin Orange Salad

Well, maybe there is one thing we can love about red meat. Beef is a great source of vitamin A. Be sure to pick up the leaner beef in the grocery, and you’re off to a healthy start. Find local grass-fed beef, and you can limit the significant environmental impact of raising livestock.

Recipes:
Beef and Barley with Mushrooms
Beef Brisket with Fresh and Dried Mushroom
Grandma Kelly’s Organic Beef Stew
Plum-spiced Beef Brisket
Chayote in Ground Beef Tomato Sauce (Community recipe)
Shepherd's Pie with Brown Ale

These leafy greens have 489 milligrams of vitamin A, plenty of beta carotene, and just 31 calories in one half a cup.

Collard green recipes to try:
• Garlicky Braised Collards
• Collard Greens with Bacon and Cider Vinegar
• Southern Fried Chicken with Collard Greens

Another leafy vegetable high in beta carotene in the form of vitamin A, kale has 478 milligrams of the nutrient and 20 calories per half cup serving.

Kale recipes to try:
• Kale Chips
• Roast Cod with Bacon, Potatoes, and Kale
• Kale Salad with Glazed Onions and Cheddar
• Hearty Kale and Bean Salad

The greens on this common root vegetable are just as edible as they are nutritious. Half a cup of turnip greens have 441 milligrams of vitamin A, 851 micrograms of vitamin K, and just 24 calories. And with vitamin C, folate, and calcium as well, they're far more nutritious than the turnip itself.

Try young leaves as an accent to a salad, or boil twice, replacing the water in between, to serve as a side dish. Also look for mustard and dandelion greens for a similar leafy health boost.

Beet greens are a top source of several nutrients, with 276 milligrams of vitamin A, 697 micrograms of vitamin K, 655 milligrams of potassium, and just 19 calories per half a cup. Like turnip greens, you can find these at your local farmers' market (or you can grow them yourself). Try substituting this superfood in recipes for collards.

Packed with almost as much vitamin A as turnip and beet greens — but far more palatable to most casual eaters — winter squash is a delicious source of nutritious beta carotene.

Winter squash recipes to try:
• Maple-Glazed Acorn Squash
• Gingered Winter Squash Puree
• Winter Squash Soup
• Butternut Squash and Pesto Rotini