Carrots Won’t Improve Your Eyesight — But This Will
“Eat your carrots, they’ll help you see in the dark”
Ever heard that one?
I certainly have.
This old adage has been popular since WW2, when it became widely popular for reasons that are quite different from what most people think.
But is there any truth to it?
Carrots are rich in a compound called beta-carotene, an orange pigment that acts as the precursor to vitamin A.
Vitamin A is essential for healthy vision, particularly in low-light conditions. It helps your eyes produce rhodopsin, a pigment in the retina that allows you to see in dim environments.
However, this is where the confusion lies.
Whilst beta-carotene acts as a precursor to vitamin A, it would need to be converted to an active form of vitamin A to be readily available.
This conversion process is a highly variable and debated topic, but it is far less efficient than consuming retinol directly from animal foods.
As inefficient as 55 micrograms of beta-carotene for the equivalent 1 microgram of active vitamin A, or retinol, activity.
Yes, 55:1.
Readily usable vitamin A comes directly from animal foods.
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It can be used by the body immediately unlike highly inefficient plant foods.
So forget the carrots for your eyes, there are much better options.
Which, you ask?
Unsurprisingly, the foods I always recommend — liver, butter, eggs and so on.
I was going to add a table which you could use with the specific quantities, but these always (mistakingly) include plant foods, with no distinction between beta-carotene and retinol. Because of this, these are easily misread.
So instead I’ve added a chart below which serves as a good guide.
So there you have it.
The next time someone tells you to eat carrots because they will help you see in the dark, remember the truth behind the myth.
Talking of liver, it’s been a while since I had some myself.
I’ll add it to the shopping list.
Ollie
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