Carrots have long been touted for their efficacy in improving eyesight, and generations of kids have been admonished to not leave them on their plates lest they end up needing glasses. But are carrots the sight-boosters popular wisdom asserts them to be? There is at least a bit of something to the carrots/vision presumption: Beta-carotene, which is found in the vegetable, may help reduce the risk of cataract and macular degeneration. However, it needs be pointed out that studies which have posited this link used doses of Vitamin A or beta-carotene that were higher than what is found in the standard diet. It would be quite difficult to eat the requisite number of carrots to match this level of intake. Also, among those who suffer a Vitamin A deficiency, nyctanopia (also known as nyctalopia or night blindness; the inability to see well in poor light) can be at least somewhat helped by adding carrots to the sufferer's diet.
Megadosing with Vitamin A, however, is a bad idea. Large doses of Vitamin A can be toxic, and though such an overdose rarely kills, it has on at least a few occasions. Also, too much beta-carotene will result in carotenemia, a condition that turns skin yellow or orange. Normal coloration returns once the increased intake of beta-carotene is reduced.
Megadosing with Vitamin A, however, is a bad idea. Large doses of Vitamin A can be toxic, and though such an overdose rarely kills, it has on at least a few occasions. Also, too much beta-carotene will result in carotenemia, a condition that turns skin yellow or orange. Normal coloration returns once the increased intake of beta-carotene is reduced.