Probably one of the oldest bits of advice you remember hearing is to eat carrots because they will help improve your vision and eyes. You probably ate more carrots because of it and you may have even told your friends, children, and co-workers about this too. But did you ever stop to think whether it was true or not?
Think about it, you probably didn’t ask your doctor or look it up yourself.
It is known that healthy habits including eating well can go a long way in maintaining healthy vision, but do carrots fall into that category?
Fact or myth: Do carrots improve vision?
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The good news is that carrots are good for your eyes. On the other hand, there are many other foods that can also benefit your eyes, and eating all these foods on rotation is much better for your eyes and overall health than just consuming carrots.
When it comes to studies on carrots and vision, results have been conflicting. On one hand, some studies suggest that carrots don’t possess enough of the essential nutrients your eyes need to make a difference in vision. Other studies have shown that certain nutrients within carrots can make a difference among older adults with age-related macular degeneration.
Harvard Health Publications put out an article on the topic and it explained, “Carrots are one of several vegetables that are good for the eyes. But fresh fruits and dark green leafy vegetables, which contain more antioxidants, are even better. Antioxidant vitamins may help protect the eyes against cataract and age-related macular degeneration. But eating any vegetables or supplements containing these vitamins or substances will not prevent or correct basic vision problems such as nearsightedness or farsightedness.”
Although carrots won’t miraculously improve your vision, they can be part of an overall healthy eating plan to maintain healthy vision. This means you should not solely consume carrots but a variety of orange vegetables.
Problems with health and vision are often a result of poor nutrition or even deficiencies. Instead of stocking up on carrots, you should aim to eat a diet that has great variety including vegetables, seafood, lean meats, wholegrains, and dairy.
Related: This simple fruit can improve your vision
