Vitamin A's Role in Women's Sexual Health

Every year many women undergo a hysterectomy due to heavy menstrual bleeding. A study published in the South African Medical Journal indicated that a Vitamin A deficiency may lead to menorrhagia, excessive menstrual bleeding. Studies conducted indicate that women who bleed excessively during menstruation or have longer than normal periods are often deficient in Vitamin A. The study goes on to report that many of those women's symptoms were alleviated through relatively high doses of Vitamin A supplements.

Vitamin A is crucial in the development of the ovaries so it stands to reason that a deficiency in this vitamin from childhood through adulthood could lead to problems in a woman's sexual health.

Vitamin A levels in women have been shown to fluctuate with hormone levels indicating a strong relationship between the two. Earlier studies on lab animals show that decreased levels of Vitamin A also decreased hormone production.

Other studies conducted at Johannesburg General Hospital showed that healthy women with normal periods had almost twice the amount of Vitamin A in their blood stream as did the women who suffered heavy bleeding. Fifty-two of those women were put on high doses of Vitamin A for 35 days. Forty of the women returned for a follow up and it was discovered that they all had notably decreased symptoms and less bleeding.

Doctors have also seen a rise of menorrhagia in women who have stopped taking oral contraceptives. This indicates to some researchers that taking the pill helps the body store vitamin A and once the pill is stopped, the stored vitamin A is soon depleted. This also links to the earlier statement that vitamin A levels are closely related to hormone levels.

Anyone planning to discontinue the use of oral contraceptives should take a daily supplement of vitamin A to help prevent developing menorrhagia and possibly even hysterectomy in the future due to excessive bleeding.

It's also a well known fact that excessive menstrual bleeding also leads to anemia, so it's doubly important that women get at least the daily recommended intake of 10,000 IU.

It's suggested to never take over 50,000 IU in a 24 hour period so if you feel that 10,000 IU isn't helping, you can also add a daily supplement of Vitamin E which helps improve storage and utilization of Vitamin A.

Zinc, which is an essential mineral, also helps move vitamin A stored in the liver into the bloodstream.