Can too much consumption of carrots really make you orange?!
Can too much consumption of carrots really make you orange?
Answers:
yes... it's called hypercarotenemia.
From Wikipedia, "Carotenodermia (also carotenaemia, carotenemia or hypercarotenemia) is a yellowish/orange discoloration of the skin, most often occurring in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet as a result of high levels of carotene in the body. It is most commonly found in vegetarians. It is also very typically seen in infants and small children, and in their case the discoloration is most visible in the skin on their nose. This symptom, also known as xanthosis cutis, is reversible and harmless. Carotenodermia has been observed to occur upon chronic doses in excess of 30 mg of carotenoid per day, most often caused by eating an overabundance of carrots. Though all pigmented fruits and vegetables contain some amount of carotene, especially large amounts of it are in breast milk, carrots, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, beans, egg yolks, corn and yams."
Your hand would also turn slightly orange from peeling that many too, but that's more like dye. I used to work in a health food restaurant who's signiture dish was their carrot salad. I probably peeled 40 lbs of carrots a day.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hypercarote...
You would have to eat an enormous amount for that to happen. You would most likely throw up before turning orange.
Yes, excess beta-carotene from any source can turn the skin orange. Usually it occurs from taking supplements; kind of hard to eat that many carrots, but it can be done.
It happened to a friend who lived in an Asian country from eating lots of Papaya fruit. He was advised to cut down on all orange , red or green vegetables and fruits for a week. After a week his normal color came back and he was told by his doctor that he should watch for such foods. The problem lies in the liver. His liver was not able to get rid of excessive beta carotene. With him it is a permanent problem. He should not exhaust his liver trying to get rid of these substances.
It's not hard to turn orange by eating carrots. My sister-in-law received a juicer a couple of Christmases ago, and really got into juicing. She was away at college. We saw her for spring break, and she had an orange glow to her! She looked as if she had a fake spray-on tan!
She had been juicing and adding a couple of carrots to her juice. It didn't take long.
We still tease her now.
yes. Though you have to eat a LOT of carrots. You'll notice first the palms of your hands have an orangish tinge to them. You won't look like a walking carrot, per se, but your skin tone can look different.
I think thats a myth. I juice 2 pounds of carrots and drink them every day, have for many years, and I am not orange! I don't know anyone who eats and drinks more carrots than I do. Besides the juice, I eat a whole bag of baby carrots every day. I love them!