Beta-cryptoxanthin
Carotenoids
The carotenoid of persimmon and mandarin, also converted into vitamin A.
Few foods really carry it: it is a gap that is easy to let run for months without noticing.
Effects and benefits
The orange carotenoid of tangerines, persimmons and papaya also turns into vitamin A, and reaches the blood far better than the beta-carotene of vegetables. Its blood level tracks the plate so faithfully that researchers use it to tell who eats citrus.
It is half like beta-carotene: only one half of the molecule can become vitamin A. Yet, eaten in fruit, it provides almost as much, because it is absorbed far more easily, about seven times better by some estimates (Burri et al., 2011). The vitamin A it provides serves the same functions: vision in dim light, skin, mucous membranes, defenses.
In Japan, where people eat many satsuma mandarins, an observational study associated high blood levels of beta-cryptoxanthin with better bone density in postmenopausal women (Sugiura et al., 2008).
Sources: Burri et al., Nutr Rev, 2011 · Sugiura et al., 2008 · National Institutes of Health
Where to find it (12)
- Bell pepper
- Butternut squash
- Clementine
- Loquat
- Mandarin
- Papaya
- Paprika
- Persimmon
- Physalis
- Pumpkin / red kuri squash
- Sea buckthorn
- Sweet pepper