{ "dataset": "vitamin-a-cost-by-brand", "title": "Preformed Vitamin A Supplements Compared — cost per 900mcg RAE RDA-equivalent, and which products are 2.5x the adult UL", "sourcePage": "https://verifiedsupplementdata.com/vitamin-a/best-overall/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "attribution": "Verified Supplement Data (2026), Vitamin A Cost Comparison", "dateModified": "2026-07-19", "methodology": "⚠️ This cluster covers PREFORMED vitamin A (retinol/retinyl esters) specifically — a proven human teratogen at high intake in pregnancy (Rothman et al. 1995, PMID 7477116, ~10,000 IU/day supplemental threshold) and, in chronic excess, a documented cause of liver toxicity (PMID 16448456) and bone/fracture risk (PMID 12540641, PMID 11754708). All 6 tracked products disclose an exact label IU figure; the honest axis is DOSE CATEGORY. 4 of 6 products (4) sit at or under the 3000mcg RAE (10000 IU) adult upper limit and are ranked by costPerRdaEquivalent = (price / (servings x raeMcgPerServing)) x 900 (the cost of one RDA-equivalent 900mcg RAE dose, the male adult RDA; the female adult RDA is 700mcg RAE). The other 2 products are 25,000 IU (7,500mcg RAE = 2.5x the UL) — the SAME preformed-A dose as the CARET trial's harm-signal arm (PMID 8602180). Neither is an RDA-range daily supplement, so costPerRdaEquivalent is deliberately null for both and they are EXCLUDED from the daily ranking, surfaced only as flagged, no-buy-link contrast cases. The honest best-overall pick (lowest dose, dry/non-oil-based — Solgar) is NOT the cheapest per RDA-equivalent; this dataset reports both facts separately. Pregnancy RDA 770mcg RAE/day; lactation RDA 1300mcg RAE/day (NIH ODS). Pregnant women and women who could become pregnant should not take high-dose preformed vitamin A. This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA; these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.", "headline": { "productsCompared": 6, "dailyRankEligible": 4, "flaggedOverUl": 2, "rdaMaleMcgRae": 900, "rdaFemaleMcgRae": 700, "pregnancyRdaMcgRae": 770, "lactationRdaMcgRae": 1300, "ulMcgRae": 3000, "ulIu": 10000, "cheapestPerRdaEquivalent": 0.0141, "cheapestPerRdaBrand": "NOW Foods", "honestOverallPickBrand": "Solgar", "note": "Ranked by dose-category eligibility FIRST (RDA-to-UL vs 2.5x-UL), then cost per RDA-equivalent — never by commissions. The honest best-overall pick (Solgar, lowest dose) is separate from the raw cheapest-per-RDA-equivalent figure. The two 25,000 IU products are flagged, not ranked as daily picks, and carry no buy link." }, "columns": [ "brand", "product", "slug", "form", "labelIu", "raeMcgPerServing", "servings", "price", "costPerServing", "costPerRdaEquivalent", "verdict", "dailyRankEligible", "thirdParty" ], "units": { "labelIu": "IU (label)", "raeMcgPerServing": "mcg RAE preformed vitamin A (disclosed/derived)", "price": "USD", "costPerServing": "USD/serving", "costPerRdaEquivalent": "USD per 900mcg RAE (one male-RDA-equivalent dose)" }, "citations": [ { "claim": "Prospective cohort, n=22,748 pregnant women screened: women consuming >10,000 IU/day of supplemental preformed vitamin A had a prevalence ratio of 4.8 (95% CI 2.2-10.5) for cranial-neural-crest birth defects vs. women taking ≤5,000 IU/day; apparent threshold near 10,000 IU/day; excess risk concentrated in intake before the 7th week of gestation.", "source": "Rothman KJ, Moore LL, Singer MR, Nguyen US, Mannino S, Milunsky A. 1995, New England Journal of Medicine", "pmid": "7477116" }, { "claim": "Multicenter RCT, n=18,314 smokers/former smokers/asbestos-exposed workers: 30mg beta-carotene + 25,000 IU retinyl palmitate/day increased lung cancer incidence (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04-1.57) and all-cause mortality (RR 1.17). Trial stopped 21 months early for harm.", "source": "Omenn GS, Goodman GE, Thornquist MD, et al. (CARET) 1996, New England Journal of Medicine", "pmid": "8602180" }, { "claim": "Population-based cohort, n=2,322 men, 30 years follow-up: highest serum-retinol quintile had rate ratio 2.47 (95% CI 1.15-5.28) for hip fracture vs. middle quintile; serum beta-carotene was NOT associated with fracture risk.", "source": "Michaëlsson K, Lithell H, Vessby B, Melhus H. 2003, New England Journal of Medicine", "pmid": "12540641" }, { "claim": "Histopathology study, 9 liver biopsies from a 41-patient hepatotoxicity series: significant positive correlation between perisinusoidal liver fibrosis severity and daily retinol dose (p=0.004).", "source": "Nollevaux MC, Guiot Y, Horsmans Y, et al. 2006, Liver International", "pmid": "16448456" }, { "claim": "Cluster-RCT, 450 villages, n=25,939 preschool children in vitamin-A-deficient northern Sumatra: mortality in control villages was 49% higher than in supplemented villages. This benefit applies to documented-deficiency populations, not replete adults.", "source": "Sommer A, Tarwotjo I, Djunaedi E, et al. 1986, Lancet", "pmid": "2871418" }, { "claim": "RDA/UL figures (900mcg RAE adult male RDA, 700mcg RAE female, 770mcg RAE pregnancy, 1,300mcg RAE lactation, 3,000mcg RAE / 10,000 IU adult UL for preformed vitamin A only) cross-checked against a government reference (IOM Dietary Reference Intakes).", "source": "NIH Office of Dietary Supplements / Institute of Medicine, Vitamin A Fact Sheet", "pmid": null } ], "products": [ { "brand": "NOW Foods", "product": "NOW Supplements Vitamin A (Fish Liver Oil) 10,000 IU, 100 Softgels", "slug": "now-vitamin-a-10000iu-fish-liver-oil", "form": "Softgel (fish liver oil)", "labelIu": 10000, "raeMcgPerServing": 3000, "servings": 100, "price": 4.7, "costPerServing": 0.05, "costPerRdaEquivalent": 0.0141, "verdict": "at-the-ul", "dailyRankEligible": true, "thirdParty": "None stated" }, { "brand": "Carlson", "product": "Vitamin A Solubilized, 10,000 IU (3,000mcg RAE), 100 Softgels", "slug": "carlson-vitamin-a-solubilized-10000iu", "form": "Softgel (water-soluble/micellized)", "labelIu": 10000, "raeMcgPerServing": 3000, "servings": 100, "price": 10.12, "costPerServing": 0.1, "costPerRdaEquivalent": 0.0304, "verdict": "at-the-ul", "dailyRankEligible": true, "thirdParty": "None stated" }, { "brand": "Solgar", "product": "Dry Vitamin A 1,500mcg (5,000 IU), 100 Tablets", "slug": "solgar-dry-vitamin-a-1500mcg", "form": "Dry tablet (non-oil-based)", "labelIu": 5000, "raeMcgPerServing": 1500, "servings": 100, "price": 7.33, "costPerServing": 0.07, "costPerRdaEquivalent": 0.044, "verdict": "rda-range-low-dose", "dailyRankEligible": true, "thirdParty": "None stated" }, { "brand": "Country Life", "product": "Vitamin A 10,000 IU — 50% Beta-Carotene & 50% Retinyl Palmitate, 100 Tablets", "slug": "country-life-vitamin-a-10000iu-mixed", "form": "Tablet (mixed: retinyl palmitate + beta-carotene)", "labelIu": 10000, "raeMcgPerServing": 1500, "servings": 100, "price": 13.99, "costPerServing": 0.14, "costPerRdaEquivalent": 0.0839, "verdict": "mixed-form-half-preformed", "dailyRankEligible": true, "thirdParty": "None stated" }, { "brand": "Nutricost", "product": "Vitamin A 25,000 IU, 500 Softgels", "slug": "nutricost-vitamin-a-25000iu", "form": "Softgel", "labelIu": 25000, "raeMcgPerServing": 7500, "servings": 500, "price": 20.95, "costPerServing": 0.04, "costPerRdaEquivalent": null, "verdict": "over-ul-not-recommended", "dailyRankEligible": false, "thirdParty": "None stated" }, { "brand": "NOW Foods", "product": "Vitamin A (Fish Liver Oil) 25,000 IU, 250 Softgels", "slug": "now-foods-vitamin-a-25000iu-fish-liver-oil", "form": "Softgel (fish liver oil)", "labelIu": 25000, "raeMcgPerServing": 7500, "servings": 250, "price": 13.99, "costPerServing": 0.06, "costPerRdaEquivalent": null, "verdict": "over-ul-not-recommended", "dailyRankEligible": false, "thirdParty": "None stated" } ] }