Though the idea that carrots are good for your eyesight stemmed from a myth, carrots contain many beneficial nutrients that may support healthy eyes and many other health benefits.
It’s commonly said that carrots keep your eyes healthy and improve night vision. However, you may wonder about the origin of this idea and whether it’s supported by science.
This article tells you whether carrots benefit your eyes and provides other tips to keep your vision healthy.
It has long been believed that eating carrots promotes eye health and improves your eyesight, especially at night.
Though there is truth to this, the association between carrots and eyesight originated from a myth.
During World War II, British Royal Air Force pilots first began using radar to target and shoot down enemy planes. To keep this new technology a secret, the visual accuracy of the pilots — especially at night — was attributed to eating carrots.
This led to a longstanding propaganda campaign that promoted carrots for better eyesight and embellished a link between eating carrots and improved night vision, which remains today.
Although they’re not quite the magic eye food they were marketed to be during World War II, carrots contain certain compounds that are good for your eyes.
High in antioxidants that benefit eye health
Carrots are a rich source of beta-carotene and lutein, which are antioxidants that can help prevent eye damage caused by free radicals.
When their numbers become too high, free radicals are compounds that can lead to:
- cellular damage
- aging
- chronic illnesses, including eye diseases
Beta-carotene gives many red, orange, and yellow plants their coloring. Orange carrots are especially high in beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A. Deficiency in vitamin A has been linked to vision loss.
Vitamin A is needed to form rhodopsin, the reddish-purple, light-sensitive pigment in your eye cells that help you see at night.
Your body absorbs and utilizes beta-carotene more efficiently when you eat cooked carrots rather than raw ones. Furthermore, vitamin A and its precursors are fat-soluble, so eating carrots with a fat source improves absorption.
Yellow carrots contain the most lutein, which may help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition in which vision gradually blurs or disappears. Diets rich in lutein may be especially
Summary
Carrots are a good source of lutein and beta-carotene, which are antioxidants that benefit eye health and protect against age-related degenerative eye diseases. Your body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, a nutrient that helps you see in the dark.
Carrots support healthy eyes, but there are many other reasons to eat them.
Other health benefits of carrots include:
Summary
Aside from their contributions to eye health, there are many reasons to eat carrots. They can benefit your digestive system, as well as heart, skin, and overall health.
Eating carrots isn’t the only way to keep your eyes healthy and your vision sharp. Other strategies to improve your eye health include the following:
- Use sun protection: Choose sunglasses that protect your eyes from 99% to 100% of UVA and UVB rays. Sun damage can
lead to eye disease , cataracts, and macular degeneration. - Limit screen time and blue light: Extended television, phone, or computer time can cause eyestrain. At night, turn off screens or turn on the night-light filter on your phone, as blue light can cause retinal damage.
- Self-managing diabetes: Diabetes frequently causes diabetic retinopathy (DR). Studies have found a link between DR and the risk factors hyperglycemia and hypertension. Talk with your doctor about possible medications to manage these risk factors, setting up regular DR screenings to monitor progression and other treatments.
- Avoid smoking, or try a smoking cessation program: Cigarette and e-cigarette use has been
linked to ocular discomfort , pain, burning, itching, redness, dryness, glare, blurriness, eyestrain, and headaches in adolescents. - Strive for a balanced diet: Other nutrients can also benefit your eye health. EPA and DHA omega-3 fats (e.g., fatty fish, flax), vitamin C (e.g, citrus fruits, broccoli), vitamin E (e.g., nut butters), and zinc (e.g., meat, oysters, and pumpkin seeds) are good for your eyes.
- Eat dark leafy green vegetables: Kale, spinach, and collard greens are high in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which support eye health.
- Get regular eye exams: The best way to know how your eyes are doing is to have them regularly examined by an eye care professional. Seeing an optometrist or ophthalmologist is a good preventive health habit to get into.
Summary
Eating a nutritious diet, exercising, limiting screen time, avoiding smoking or trying a smoking cessation program, wearing sunglasses, and having your vision checked regularly by an eye doctor are important habits for optimal eye health.
The idea that carrots promote healthy eyes and good vision originates from a myth — but that doesn’t mean it’s untrue.
They’re especially high in the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene, which have been shown to protect your eyes.
Carrots may also benefit your digestion, heart, skin, and overall health.
If you want to keep your eyes healthy, you should also establish other healthy, vision-protective habits, such as exercising, wearing sunglasses, limiting screen time, eating a balanced diet, and avoiding smoking or trying a smoking cessation program.
