The Truth about the Vision Benefits of Eating Carrots

You may have heard that carrots improve night vision, but is it the
truth? Eye doctors know that carrots can't save you from needing eye
glasses. However, they do contain significant quantities of
beta-carotene, a vitamin that is beneficial for your eye health and
therefore ingesting foods rich in this vitamin is definitely a
recommendation for maintaining eye health.

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid, or orange pigment that converts into
vitamin A after it's absorbed in the human body. Vitamin A protects the
surface of the eye (cornea) and has been proven to be preventative for a
number of eye diseases such as corneal ulcers. Vitamin A, an
antioxidant compound, protects the surface of the eye to decrease the
frequency of eye infections as well as other infectious diseases.
Vitamin A is also known to be a successful solution for dry eyes and
other eye disorders. A lack of vitamin A (which is be more common in
poor and developing countries) often causes night blindness, corneal
ulcers and retinal damage which can contribute to blindness.

There are two forms of vitamin A, which depend upon the nutritional
source from which they come. Vitamin A originating from an animal is
called Retinol and can be obtained from foods such as beef, chicken
liver, or dairy products. Vitamin A that is produce-derived comes in the
form of ''provitamin A'' carotenoids, which convert to retinol after
the food is absorbed. In addition to carrots, carotenoids can be found
in colorful produce particularly those that are bright orange or green
in color.

It is proven that through most forms, vitamin A contributes to the
health of your eyes as well as your overall well being. Even though
carrots can't correct near or far-sightedness, grandma had it right
when she advised ''eat your carrots.''