Food Sources of Beta Carotene for Healthy Skin

Repair Sun Damage with Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

Aug 10, 2009 Brenna Coleman

Making foods with beta carotene a regular part of your diet is an effective way to nourish the skin and repair sun damage.

Exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, as well as naturally occurring free radical damage, contribute to skin damage - wrinkles, sun spots, dry, parched looking skin, and possibly skin cancer. Beta carotene and vitamin A can slow this process by keeping the skin moist and supple, and by providing antioxidants for healthy skin.

What is Beta Carotene and What Does it Do?

Beta carotene is one of the most-well known and widely researched carotenoids. Carotenoids represent pigmentation in fruits and vegetables. Foods with beta carotene usually fall within the yellow to orange color range, although green leafy vegetables carry this nutrient as well.

Of hundreds of these phytochemicals, there are fifty carotenoids that are known as provitamin A compounds. These compounds are converted into vitamin A, also known as retinol, whenever the body requires it. Essentially, by consuming food sources of beta carotene, the body is receiving both the benefits of beta carotene, as well as the benefits of vitamin A.

As carotenoids are only converted when needed, there is never a risk of having an excess of vitamin A through beta carotene. In fact, the only thing that can happen from eating too many foods with beta carotene, such as carrots, grapefruit, and sweet potatoes, is a yellowing of the skin called carotenodermia, a completely harmless and reversible condition.

Beta carotene itself is a powerful antioxidant, scavenging the body for free radicals, and neutralizing them before they can damage cells. It also improves communication between cells, preventing cancerous cells from forming in the first place.

The Benefits of Beta Carotene and Vitamin A for Troubled Skin

Beta carotene has been shown to repair sun damage, minimizing redness and brown spots. As an antioxidant it helps to prevent skin cancer and the negative effects of UV rays. To receive the highest level of the benefits of beta carotene, eat raw or lightly cooked food sources of beta carotene as opposed to taking supplements. As a whole food, other phytonutrients are absorbed along with beta carotene, enhancing the potency of this carotenoid.

Vitamin A is a reputed nutrient for skin care as a food source, and topically as a vitamin A skin cream. In the article "Put your skin on a vitamin-rich diet", Samera Felesky-Hunt says, vitamin A-rich foods are needed for the repair and maintenance of healthy skin, for healing, new tissue construction, and wrinkle protection. Vitamin A, or retinol, keeps epithelial tissue, found on the skin and mucous membranes, moist and in good condition. It is a vital nutrient for the cell growth, and, like beta carotene, acts as an antioxidant, slowing the aging process by preventing free radical damage.

Topically, vitamin A skin cream has been shown to reduce the appearance of fine wrinkles in mature, sun-exposed skin. When applied to the skin, the production of glycosaminoglycan and procollagen - two compounds that improve the condition of the skin by retaining moisture and forming more connective tissue - increases.

Foods with Beta Carotene

Direct sources of vitamin A are derived from animal products - dairy, meat, and fish. Beta carotene and other carotenoids are found in fruits and vegetables. Winter squash, cantaloupe, and green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach are all great sources of beta carotene, and when eaten, provide antioxidants for healthy skin. Sweet potatoes and carrots are stellar sources; one baked sweet potatoes provides 13,107 IU of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, and one cup of raw carrots provides 34,317 IU. The recommended daily requirement for vitamin A is 3,000 IU for men and 2,333 IU for women, making these orange-pigmented foods potent tools to repair sun damage. Because some fat has to be consumed for fat-soluble beta carotene to be absorbed, feel free to add a little butter or sour cream to your vegetables.

Sources:

Balch, Phyllis A. "Prescription for Nutritional Healing." Fourth Edition (Penguin Group, 2006).

World's Healthiest Foods

The copyright of the article Food Sources of Beta Carotene for Healthy Skin in Natural Medicine is owned by Brenna Coleman. Permission to republish Food Sources of Beta Carotene for Healthy Skin in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Carrots are a Good Food for Skin Repair	Fresh Carrot Juice is Also a Food for Sun Damage	Beta Carotene Helps Repair Sun Damage
Beta Carotene in Skin Cream Repairs Sun Damage Too