Beta-carotene (vitamin A)

Carotenoids

The orange pigment, which the body converts into vitamin A as needed and no further.

Fat-soluble: without a little fat in the meal, most of it is not absorbed.

Effects and benefits

The orange pigment the body turns into vitamin A, but only as needed: impossible to overdo it from your plate. This vitamin A forms the retinal pigment that sees in dim light, maintains skin and defenses; and a more colorful plate even gave skin a golden glow in six weeks.

One molecule of beta-carotene can be split into two molecules of vitamin A. The gut regulates this conversion: when stores are full, it converts less, and the rest is stored in skin and fat. Too many carrots can thus tint the palms orange, harmlessly, whereas excess vitamin A itself is toxic.

Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance of normal vision, of normal skin and mucous membranes, and to the normal function of the immune system (Regulation 432/2012). It forms rhodopsin, the pigment of the retina's rods: seeing poorly at dusk is the first sign of a shortfall.

In a six-week trial, adults who ate more colorful fruit and vegetables took on a golden tint, judged healthier and more attractive by observers (Whitehead et al., 2012).

By sex and age: EFSA sets the reference intake of vitamin A at 750 µg a day for a man, 650 for a woman, 700 during pregnancy and 1,300 during breastfeeding (EFSA, 2015). One caution, only one: as a high-dose supplement, beta-carotene increased the risk of lung cancer in smokers (ATBC, 1994; CARET, 1996); in food, nothing of the kind has been seen.

Sources: EU Regulation 432/2012 · Whitehead et al., PLoS One, 2012 · EFSA, 2015 · ATBC Study Group, NEJM, 1994 · CARET, Omenn et al., NEJM, 1996

Beta-carotene (vitamin A)

Effects and benefits

Where to find it (371)

Also, in smaller amounts (27)