Throat and Chest Infections

Vitamin A deficiency can cause frequent infections, especially in the throat and chest. It's believed that taking supplements with vitamin A may help with respiratory infections.

Underweight children who got 10,000 IU of vitamin A per week had fewer respiratory infections than those who received a placebo, according to Ecuadorian research. A review of studies in children, on the other hand, indicated that vitamin A supplements may raise the risk of throat and chest infections by 8%. Supplements should only be provided to people who have a true deficiency, according to the authors. Furthermore, high blood levels of the provitamin A carotenoid beta-carotene may protect against respiratory infections, according to one research in elderly people.