The sun on your plate

“Eat your carrots, it will make your hair curly!” “Carrots help you see in the dark!” “Carrot juice is good for the complexion.” These and many more proverbs and home remedies have been dished up to us... though we haven’t always swallowed them! And yet...

To understand more about these quaint sayings, let us get to the core of the carrot. It is a vegetable that is extremely rich (12,000 mcg/100g) in a component with the similar-sounding name of beta-carotene. However, though the carrot wins hands down when it comes to beta-carotene, it is not the only vegetable that contains it: parsley (6,000 mcg/100g), fresh chervil (5,000 mcg/100g), Swiss chard, red kuri squash, lamb’s lettuce, spinach (around 4,000 mcg/100g), fennel, and bell pepper (about 3,000 mcg/100 g) are also rich in this valuable compound... By comparison, the recommended daily allowance is 4,800 micrograms per day for men, and 3,600 micrograms per day for women (AFSSA, 2001) in terms of vitamin A, of which beta-carotene is a pro-vitamin.

But what is the link between beta-carotene and a sun-kissed complexion? Simple: beta-carotene is the yellow or orange pigment that gives its attractive colour to the carrot... or to our skin if we include it in our menu! So, when enough of this natural pigment is taken in through our diet, our skin takes on a light orangey hue. Which shows that our grandmothers were not that far from the truth about a pretty complexion, nor those who claim that it relieves stress: apparently, nibbling a carrot helps you calm down when you are nervous!

One drawback though: the sunny complexion disappears the moment you lower your consumption of foodstuffs that are rich in beta-carotene. So don’t wait: as soon as autumn sets in, let’s get back to those grated carrots, Swiss chard bakes, lamb’s lettuce salads, marinated bell peppers and fennel salads to keep that healthy summer tan and prolong the pleasant feeling that summer is still lingering on... And remember, vegetable juice is a great energy booster!

Photo credit : Fotolia.com/Fondation Louis Bonduelle