The skin is the largest and definitely the most visible organ of the body, and it is only natural that you’d want to give it the best possible care. In fact, there are tons of skin care products available in beauty shops and health care stores everywhere. Too much, in fact, that making a selection can be daunting. To avoid the confusion though, there is only one thing you have to look for when it comes to skin care – Vitamin A.

Increasing your Vitamin A intake is one of the best things you can do for your skin. Vitamin A has been known to get rid of stubborn acne, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, lines and crow’s feet, and protects your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. You might be surprised to see just how drastically your skin can improve just by increasing the amount of Vitamin A you take in.

To give you a head start, here are some foods that naturally have high Vitamin A content:

• Apricots
• Carrots
• Kale
• Kiwi
• Mangoes
• Papaya
• Peaches
• Red Peppers
• Spinach
• Tomatoes

Vitamin A is not very hard to find and if you are already eating a healthy balanced diet, the chances are good that you are already getting your body’s required daily amount of this vitamin. However, if you want to further increase your intake of Vitamin A, you can either eat more of these fruits and vegetables or take a Vitamin A supplement.

Vitamin A Via Topical Application

Aside from eating Vitamin A-rich foods, you also have the option of using ointments, creams and other topical applications, particularly if there are certain areas in your skin that you want to pay special attention to. You can buy most of these items over the counter but the more potent ones require a doctor’s prescription.

One such prescribed Vitamin A medication is Retin-A, which is known all over the world. This ointment is used primarily to treat acute acne, but it can also be used to reduce the incidence of wrinkles and lines on the skin resulting from sun exposure.

Most of the over-the-counter Vitamin A medications are anti-aging creams, but there are also a handful that can be used to treat pimples, warts and other forms of acne. You do have to be careful in using these non-prescription medications. In order to avoid unwanted complications, make sure you follow the instructions on the label.

Side Effects of Vitamin A

Provided you don’t take too much, there are really no remarkable side effects of taking Vitamin A. There are a few minor inconveniences like temporary drying of the skin if you apply too much Vitamin A, or your skin become super-sensitive and easily irritated by the sun’s rays. These side effects, however, are quite mild and very rare.

Vitamin A is indeed very helpful in keeping your skin healthy. Even if you don’t have any skin problems, you can start increasing your Vitamin A intake right now to help your skin age beautifully. With the proper care, your skin can be clear, healthy and beautiful regardless of your age.