Toxicities of vitamin A relate only to pre-formed vitamin A, which is usually labeled as retinol, retinyl acetate, or retinyl palmitate. Beta-carotene is referred to as pro-vitamin A because it is converted to vitamin A in the body as needed.

USANA Essentials use only beta-carotene to provide vitamin A activity. Beta-carotene is not known to cause vitamin A toxicity at any level. The level of beta-carotene contained in an average medium-sized carrot is ~20,000 IU, while a daily dose of the Essentials yields 15,000 IU.