Ramping up the old adage of carrots being good for your eyes
I grew up in the day of Bugs Bunny cartoons with images of Bugs Bunny crunching down on a carrot saying, “what’s up doc?”. It’s a familiar memory that brings me a little nostalgia from my childhood.
My mom would tell me, “carrots are good for your eyes”. But I always wondered why my best friend who was a faithful carrot cruncher still wore eyeglasses and squinted to see things far away without her glasses.
As an eye doctor now, that old adage of carrots being good for your eyes is one that I still get asked about from patients. Is it true? Is it a myth? Can vision be improved?
As with every old adage, it begins from a truth but, slowly over the years gets twisted and comes out a very different statement that doesn’t really express quite the same general truth as it once did.
In large part, eating carrots will keep your vision healthy. But will it improve your vision or keep you from needing glasses or contacts? The answer is no.
The reason why carrots play a role in eye health is largely in part due to Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A and certain proteins called, Opsin and Rhodopsin which form in Rods and Cones. Rods and Cones are the special cells in the back of the eye that process light and send impulses to our brain in order to interpret what we are seeing. Without vitamin A, this ‘light-activated’ cascade of signaling to our brain, interpreting what we are seeing, wouldn’t happen.
Without getting too deep into a biochemistry lesson, the body converts Beta-Carotene to Vitamin A. Vitamin A enables those special Opsin and Rhodopsin proteins to form in Rods and Cone cells. This allows our eyes to process light in bright light and in dim light. It's an actually pretty amazing process!
In fact, a deficiency in Vitamin A can result in night blindness, or nyctalopia, which is a condition where individuals have difficulty adjusting vision to low levels of light. A great example of this is a person with night blindness who goes into a movie theater. They have difficulty seeing because they don’t optimally process the little bit of dim light that is in there. The signaling system from the Rods and Cones is not working properly.
Vitamin A deficiency is pretty rare in the United States because most Americans are getting enough Vitamin A from a variety of sources. Sweet potatoes, spinach and kale are packed full of Vitamin A.
There are other causes of night blindness outside of a Vitamin A deficiency. Nearsightedness, cataracts, glaucoma, and a few rare genetic conditions like retinitis pigmentosa.
So circling back to the old adage of carrots being good for vision, we have learned that there is some truth to that adage. Beta-carotene in carrots, which is converted to Vitamin A, allows for intricate processes and signaling that allow for us to see in dim and bright light. And guess what, dipping those carrots in ranch may even add a nutritional benefit. Being that vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, dipping a modest amount of ranch on those carrots may actually help your body absorb Vitamin A more efficiently. If you would prefer to save on the calories from ranch then pairing carrots with dairy or fish can also help your body reap its benefits.
Beta-Carotene packs a nutritional punch in carrots as a type of carotenoid. Carotenoids offer a range of protective health benefits, providing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-system properties, but their role in vision is an essential one.
If beta-carotene was the supporting actor in eye health, Lutein and Zeaxanthin are the leading stars involved in eye health. They are the only type of carotenoid found in the retina of the eye. And this is a big deal when it comes to eye diseases like Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), and Cataracts where Lutein and Zeaxanthin have been shown to reduce the risk of ARMD and play a role in delaying onset of certain types of cataracts.
Getting enough of this carotenoid in foods like spinach, kale, turnip greens, pumpkin and eggs can prove to be a difficult plate to serve. However, adding a supplement makes nourishing the eye much easier. An eye-specific supplement with Lutein and Zeaxanthin provide the recommended intake of both carotenoids as found in the AREDS and AREDS2 studies in order to prevent the risk of AMD. And not just eye health wins in this eye-friendly nutrient square-off; Lutein also plays a role in brain and heart health.
Fortifying a diet that is good for your eyes can most definite start with carrots but adding supplements like Lutein and Zeaxanthin provide a fortress of protection. The old adage of carrots are good for your vision is still true, however, the protection against eye diseases and conditions can include supplements for more added prevention.
Stay Happy and Healthy!
Dr. Jen Wademan
