One of the most common naturally-occurring carotenoids, beta carotene gives certain fruits and vegetables a brilliant orange pigment. It is found in orange foods like carrots, pumpkins and yams, and in yellow foods like mangoes, papayas, as well as in certain green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collards.
Fascinatingly, carotenoids' pigment is so strong that it gives certain animals - notably shrimp who produce it, and flamingos who eat the shrimp - their strange pink color. This writer once consumed so many carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, and other foods high in beta carotene that his skin actually turned orange! This side effect, known as carotenodermia, is harmless, though funny and perhaps a little alarming.
Aside from being a powerful plant pigment, beta carotene is used by many people as a nutritional supplement. As a natural precursor to vitamin A, it is found in many multivitamins, often in place of actual molecules of vitamin A. One molecule of beta carotene is converted into two molecules of vitamin A in the body. Due to this fact, because it is so easy to isolate and produce, and because the foods it is in are already staples of the supermarket produce section, beta carotene has become popular among many doctors, nutritionists, and health-conscious consumers.
Researchers have studied the effects of both beta carotene and its child molecule, vitamin A, on human health, and have found some fascinating results. Beta carotene has been shown to benefit eye health, cognition, skin health, and even potentially stop the incidence of various cancers in the body.
Eye Health
Many studies have shown that vitamin A deficiency is often the culprit in various degenerative eye conditions, notably: cataracts, macular degeneration, hyperetinolemia, night blindness and Bitot's spots. Because vitamin A deficiency causes these conditions, and because beta carotene is the parent molecule for vitamin A, scientists recommend beta carotene supplementation for anyone suffering from degenerative eye conditions.
In addition, a study performed on patients who had just undergone laser eye surgery showed faster healing times, less hazy vision, and better visual acuity while supplementing their diet with high doses of Vitamin A.
Theory and research suggests that the reason for vitamin A's powerful role in eye health is due to its status as an antioxidant. It helps sweep up free radicals within the eye, preventing them from harming ocular tissue. In addition, vitamin A actually helps the eyes produce rhodopsin, which helps us see clearly and in low-light conditions (accounting for its positive effects at treating night blindness).
Skin Health
Vitamin A is an ingredient in many anti-acne creams because it has been shown to dramatically decrease sebaceous gland secretions. The exact mechanism behind this is still being researched, but once it is discovered, no doubt researchers will find a way to target other skin conditions.
Beta Carotene has also been shown to help prevent sunburns, perhaps due to its powerful pigmentation. Ten weeks of supplementation were required before beta carotene had a noticeable effect in the prevention of sunburn.
Cognitive Health
A study performed on over 4000 physicians over the course of eighteen years showed that 50 mg of beta carotene every other day prevented cognitive decline.
Anti-Cancer Agent
Antioxidants are the hot topic in the health research world, as considerable clinical evidence shows that high levels of free radicals are often the precursor to various cancers. Because antioxidants treat the root cause,. The general research promoting antioxidants to prevent cancer is quite solid, though many specific studies of beta carotene are still in preliminary stages. One study showed that patients taking vitamin A supplements suffered far less from esophageal cancer than patients who did not. Another indicated that beta carotene helped prevent skin cancer, which would make a lot of sense in light of the previously discussed study on beta carotene and sunburns.
Also, for the record, the study that beta carotene led to increased incidence of lung cancer in smokers was shown to be flawed. It relied on dietary questionnaires asking about supplements that test subjects had taken as far back as twenty years prior to the study. As Dr. Hans Konrad Biesalski at the Institute for Biological Chemistry and Nutrition at the University of Hohenheim in Germany has written, "It is hardly conceivable that the subjects were able to remember accurately enough in which sequence, how frequently and in what composition" subjects had taken various supplements.
Finally, the role of carotenoids in stimulating cell-to-cell communication cannot be taken for granted. Cancer researchers have shown that poor communication between cells often leads to cancerous overgrowth.
Summarized Benefits
As a proven benefactor of eye, skin, and cognitive health, and as one more ally in the fight against one of the worst killers of our time, cancer, beta carotene is a powerful little micro-nutrient. If you worry about eye, skin, or other degenerative conditions such as cancer, a multivitamin containing this valuable form of Vitamin A could be very helpful.
Even if you do not want to supplement, make sure you eat plenty of orange and yellow vegetables, so your body stays in optimal health.
