"Carrots Can’t Help You See in the Dark. Here’s How a" Topic
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| Tango01 | 18 Dec 2025 1:13 p.m. PST |
… World War II Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth
"Research suggests that eating carrots can boost eye health—but these gains come with caveats. As John Stolarczyk, curator of the virtual World Carrot Museum, told Smithsonian magazine in 2013, the science has been stretched into a pervasive myth: that carrots boast a vegetable superpower, improving nighttime vision. In truth, carrots can't help the average person see better in the dark any more than eating blueberries will turn them blue.
Carrots contain a pigment called beta carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. Not having enough of this vitamin can cause night blindness, a condition where it's difficult to see in low light, or even cause blindness in general. Young children and pregnant women living in low-income countries where nutrient-rich food isn't readily available are most at risk of vitamin A deficiency. But while studies show that "taking vitamin A can reverse poor vision caused by a deficiency, it will not strengthen eyesight or slow decline in people who are healthy," the New York Times reported in 2005.
"Somewhere on the journey, the message that carrots are good for your eyes became disfigured into improving eyesight," Stolarczyk said. His digital museum, full of surprising and obscure facts about carrots, investigates how the idea became so dominant, tracing its roots to propaganda shared by the British government during World War II…"
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Armand
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| Zephyr1 | 18 Dec 2025 2:46 p.m. PST |
Eat enough carrots, and your skin will actually turn orange… ;-) |
 John the OFM  | 18 Dec 2025 4:17 p.m. PST |
My sainted mother said carrots were good for my eyes.
If you are prepared to gainsay my mother, and accuse her of lying, well, I must say that I shall have issues with you, Sir! |
| Buck215 | 19 Dec 2025 7:44 a.m. PST |
Remember when Mom told you to eat your carrots? Her reasoning was, "You've never seen a rabbit wearing glasses, have you?" What nonsense! |
| John the OFM | 19 Dec 2025 9:15 a.m. PST |
Well, her reasoning was basically "They're good for your eyes, and I'm your mother. Eat your carrots." |
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paints a machinegun emplacement, and realizes he needs more...
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