Get healthy dose of vitamin A by eating a variety of foods

Henry Winkler's "Fonzie" (a character in the 1970s sitcom "Happy Days") stopped by "Sesame Street" to help teach the alphabet. He looked at the camera, gave a thumbs-up and said his trademark expression, "Ayyy!" as the letter "A" appeared onscreen.

Maybe you could use a little help learning about Ayyy, too - vitamin A, that is. This fat-soluble vitamin is actually a group of compounds that include retinol and beta carotene. They help form and maintain healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, mucus membranes and skin. If you don't get enough vitamin A, the lining of your nasal and respiratory passages may not be able to do their job of keeping infections like colds and the flu at bay. Even a small deficiency boosts your risk.

But Ayyy - no worries. You can easily get enough vitamin A from foods, and that's the best source. (Taking a vitamin A supplement of more than 3,500 IU daily is actually hazardous). During winter, get your vitamin A from orange and green vegetables: carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli and dark leafy greens. They contain a good dose of beta carotene, which is stored in the liver and converted into vitamin A when you need it.

Be sure to also eat walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, olive oil and avocados. The healthful mono- and polyunsaturated fats they contain help your body absorb and use vitamin A and vitamin D, too. (D is important for immune health during cold and flu season.) But what are we talking about here? Ayyy!

Q: I bought a hypoallergenic - and expensive - wrinkle cream and I broke out in big red welts! How is that possible with something that isn't supposed to bother your skin at all?

Cheryl W., Mentor, Ohio

A: There's a lot of hype around hypoallergenic products. And unfortunately, you and lots of other folks pay the price for products that don't deliver what they promise on the label. How is that possible?

Well, according to the Food and Drug Administration, there's no regulation governing the use of the word hypoallergenic! In fact, on its website, the FDA says the term means "whatever a particular company wants it to mean, but dermatologists say it has very little meaning."

Recently, researchers writing a letter to the editor in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology said they analyzed 187 personal-care products for kids (shampoos, sunscreens, diaper creams, etc.), all labeled "hypoallergenic," "dermatologist recommended," "fragrance-free" or "paraben-free." What they found was that 89 percent contained at least one chemical known to cause contact dermatitis and 11 percent contained five or more contact allergens. Methylisothiazolinone, named "Contact Allergen of the Year" in 2013 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society, showed up in 21 of the 187 supposedly kind-to-skin products.

So what's a consumer with sensitive skin do to? If a product bothers your skin, read the ingredients label and try to avoid those contents in the future. But, said the researchers, that's not easy. The 80 allergens they searched for show up under about 500 different names! Here's our added advice:

Opt for products with the shortest list of ingredients. They may have fewer potential allergens.

Avoid products with a fragrance other than essential oils. Non-essential-oil fragrances are the No. 1 trigger of contact dermatitis.

When you buy any new personal-care product place a small amount on a square inch of your skin and leave it for 24 hours to see if you're reaction-free.

And don't fall for the hypo hype!