Vitamin A - confused

[FairfaxAikman]

I'm 4+3 with my first and predictably am worrying about everything.

I know I should not have too much vitamin a but I'm confused as to how much - one source said you need "a bit more than normal" and then went onto quote 100mcg as the top amount. However according to my Horlicks pack, the RDA of vitA is around 800mcg.

How much should I be having? And more importantly do I have to give up my Horlicks? (Would be a shame as has the "right" amour of VitD in it)

Anyone?

If you're taking a multi vitamin you should be taking a pregnancy specific one which doesn't have vitamin a in it. I avoided anything which had it added or with high levels (lots of green juices for example have ingredients which are high so avoid).

You shouldn't have any vitamin a in a vitamin supplement and avoid anything that is very high in vitamin A which is why the advice is there about e.g. liver pate

There are two types of vit A, and your body deals with them slightly differently.

During pregnancy, you are advised to avoid excess animal derived vit A. Hence limited liver. And special vitamin tablets for pregnancy.

I doubt Horlicks has a massive amount. What % of rda does one cup of Horlicks contain???

There are two types of Vit A. The "preformed" version which is found in high concentrations in food like liver (pate etc) should be avoided. The beta carotene version is found in things like sweet potato, carrots etc and is converted to Vit A in the body. You should carry on as normal with these sources. I wouldn't worry too much about RDA's if you are eating a healthy balanced diet.

You should avoid any supplements that have vitamin A listed as this will be the preformed version. Specific pregnancy vitamins either do not contain Vitamin A or have the beta carotene version.

103% per 100g Sand

To PP I'm not taking a multi vitamin with it in. My question is specifically about what amount is the right amount in mcg as I'm finding conflicting advice (and whether that amount rules out my Horlicks habit as whisky is now out of the question

But that's 100g of powder. If you put a teaspoon into a mug, you are down at 5%. You need it "as consummed"

The pre measured sachets I have are 32g.

It's not about the Horlicks specifically, more a question of what is the right amount.

That's per 100g though Fairfax. I've just checked on the Horlicks website and depending on the variety (original, light, chocolate) a mug of Horlicks made up as directed has between 33% and 35% of RI of vitamin A. Here: www.horlicks.co.uk/products.html

You are overthinking it. If you tried to get the exact RDA for every vitamin each day you would drive yourself bonkers! Apart from liver products and supplements the NHS does not recommend avoidance of any other Vitamin A containing foods during pregnancy. In fact it says that under 1500mcg daily is highly unlikely to cause any harm and even over that level it would take some time to build up in your system to levels that would be harmful.

Enjoy your horlicks

Just avoid foods like liver and very high concentrations of vitamin A but enjoy a moderation led diet
I was hooked on cherry coke in pregnancy so just ensured I only had a few cans to keep my caffeine Down - don't over think and get too antsy

Thanks Chelle just couldn't find a number anywhere.