Carrots?

Nooooooooo!

That’s me as a kid. I liked the color of a carrot and I could choose for a frock. But I would never eat carrots but discard them in my lunch box. A girl with glowing skin told me she mostly survived on salads (mostly carrot salads) as her mother hardly cooked at home. I went crazy over these orange tubers. I would sleep and dream only carrots.

If you do not eat sufficient amount of beta-carotene over the time you end up with vitamin A deficiency, ie., low levels of blood-serum vitamin A. Your body needs regular amounts of beta-carotene to convert it into Vitamin A. We associate carrot to health mainly due to its beta-carotene content. Beta-carotene forms into Vitamin A which is essential for good eye sight and its deficiency is believed to be a cause of night blindness. Night blindness is generally the first symptom of Vitamin A deficiency. Chronic failure to consume enough beta-carotene may lead to permanent loss of vision.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin present in foods like eggs, milk, butter, liver, and fish like herring, sardines and tuna. Though vegetables do not contain Vitamin A, they contain pre-vitamin A, beta-carotene. Orange, green and yellow vegetables are valuable sources of beta-carotene. That is one of the major reasons why doctors recommend eating vegetables like carrots, broccoli and spinach.

Why do you need Vitamin A?

Vitamin A plays a major role in enabling you to see in the night. Vitamin A, alias retinol occur in the rods and cones of the eyes. These are the light-sensitive parts of the eye containing Vitamin A as a component allowing vision in the night or during occasions when there is dim-light. Other than the eye, the human body also needs Vitamin A for its function. The body uses a form of Vitamin A called retinoic acid to regulate the development of tissues. Even the fertilized eggs need vitamin A to develop into a fetus. Hence drinking carrot juice is found to be beneficial for prenatal health as well as that of he mother.An anti-infective vitamin, we need Vitamin A for the proper function of the immune system as well. In all, you require vitamin A for cell growth, healthy tissues, healthy skin and hair. But excess vitamin A or its deficiency can cause birth defects.

Prolonged Vitamin deficiency causes the conjunctiva to dry. The dryness spreads to the cornea making it shriveled and ulcerated. Irreversible blindness may cause as a result of inflammation and infection of the inner eye. Vitamin A deficiency can be prevented by taking enough beta-carotene foods and by ingesting or injecting vitamin supplements. There is also vitamin A therapy to correct Xerophthalamia. However, at the last stage, ulcerations, tissue death and total blindness cannot be corrected.

To prevent this, eat a diet rich in nutrients especially foods like meat, eggs and dairy products. Do not discard carrots, dark-green vegetables or pumpkins at any cost.

-Aparna K V

Tags: supplements, native remedies, eczema, ADHD, yoga

No matter what happens around us, we never want to look our age. We do not dream of ourselves with wrinkled skin and saggy under eyes. That accounts for the number of cosmetics and skin care products being launched in the market. All the major brands of cosmetic products have at least one anti-aging or anti-wrinkling product. Can you ever forget the popular beauty soap ad in which a mother captures attention as a smart college student?

There are certain natural foods which are very beneficial in maintaining the youthfulness of the body.

1. The very first one is