Science Monday: Do Carrots Really Improve Your Eyesight?
Oh, and can they turn you orange? Carrot consumption, World War II, and how soldiers got so good at spotting enemy planes in the darkness
Overall, carrots are pretty good to eat. They’ve got a nice crunch, they come in bright colors, they store well, and they contain plenty of vitamins, most particularly vitamin A.
Of course, this usually isn’t enough to convince a recalcitrant child to eat them at dinner. I remember, when I was a child, refusing to even touch those orange, crunchy, flavorless sticks unless I got a nice dollop of ranch dressing to dip them in.
My parents did their best to convince me that I had reason to consume my vegetables. “You should eat carrots!” they’d say to me. “They help improve your eyesight!”
This did work well on me as a child, I have to admit; I found out around age six that I needed glasses and was significantly short-sighted. Maybe, I figured, if I ate enough carrots, I’d improve my vision and no longer feel blind as a bat whenever I removed my glasses.
I still wear glasses (well, contact lenses these days). But did the carrots actually help me out at all? Do they have any effect on eyesight?
Short answer: no.
