.Is there any relationship between carrot and the eyes?
Why do most people associate carrot with good eye-sight or believe that it will improve their vision.?
These are some of the questions, you must have asked or may want some answers to.
Firstly, let’s take a look at the content and key ingredient of carrot- carotenoid.
Carotenoid
Carotenoid is the key ingredient of carrot. It is a fat soluble antioxidant plant compound found both in carrots and many other vegetables that you consume on daily basis.
When foods that are rich in carotenoid are consumed, carotenoid is converted into two groups of compounds.
1) The carotene group ( common among this group is a type of compound called beta-carotene which is converted in the human body to Vitamin -A )
2) The xanthophyll group ( this is converted to Lutein and zeaxanthine. These compounds are predominantly found in the retina (back of the eye ).
Vitamin-A
Vitamin A is essential in keeping the retina and photoreceptors healthy. The photoreceptors are photocells in the retina that are responsible for day light and night vision. Deficiency of Vitamin A can affect the functions of these photocells and could lead to poor night vision. Prolonged deficiency of vitamin -A in the body could result to a condition called xerophthalmia and night blindness. This condition is often common in highly impoverished communities where there is scarcity of food or where people eat very poor diet.
Lutein and xeaxanthine
These compounds have antioxidant functions which help slow down the rate of degenerative changes that take place in the eyes resulting from aging process and the presence of free radicals in the body. These changes often lead to eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD ) and cataract.
Like all vegetables that are rich in vitamins, carrot is good for your eyes and for other parts of your body too. But before you hurry down the road to the vegetable shop to buy some carrots, you need to know that the amount of carotenoid the eyes need to function properly is not only found in carrot. It can also be found in other foods that you consume. Some of these are Tomatoes, Water melon, Kale, Spinach, Sweet potatoes, Tangerine, Pumpkin, and many yellow-coloured fruits and vegetables.
This implies that carrots are not one-of-a-kind or vision-saver vegetables.
I have not come across any clinical evidence that showed that consumption of carrots alone prevented the development of cataract, macular degeneration or improved a person’s eyesight and making the use of glasses unnecessary.
When it comes to healthy eyes and good eyesight, factors such as – aging, genetics, nutrition, over-all health and medical conditions etc matters the most.
Written By;
Austin Madu, OD
( Optometrist )
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