beta-carotene

Foods Richest in beta-carotene

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About beta-carotene

What can foods with beta-carotene do for you?

What events and lifestyle factors can indicate a need for more beta-carotene-containing foods?

Food sources of beta-carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, turnip greens, winter squash, collard greens, cilantro and fresh thyme. Light steaming or consuming these foods raw preserves carotenoid bioavailability.

For serving size for specific foods, see Nutrient Rating Chart below at the bottom of this page.

Description

What is beta-carotene?

Beta-carotene is the best-known member of the carotenoid family, one of the most widespread groups of naturally occurring pigments. It is among the most abundant carotenoids in the North American diet and one of approximately 50 provitamin A compounds that the body can convert into retinol, an active form of vitamin A.

Beta-carotene absorbs light in the blue-violet range, producing orange and yellow hues. Foods containing beta-carotene are not always orange, however. Other pigment classes (chlorophylls, anthocyanins) can mask the carotenoid color, which is why dark leafy greens like kale and spinach are concentrated sources despite appearing green.

How it functions

Preventing vitamin A deficiency

Until late in the 20th Century, the functions of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, were discussed only in terms of their potential vitamin A activity. Beta-carotene is one of approximately 50 carotenoids of the known 600, that are called “provitamin A” compounds because the body can convert them into retinol, an active form of vitamin A.

As a result, foods that contain beta-carotene can help prevent vitamin A deficiency. In addition to alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin, beta-carotene is among the most commonly consumed provitamin A carotenoids in the North American diet.

Carotenoids including beta-carotene have received extensive research attention for potential anti-cancer properties. Beta-carotene quenches singlet oxygen and scavenges peroxyl radicals, protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage. It is also one of the carotenoids associated with modulation of immune cell function, including T-lymphocyte proliferation.

Promoting proper cell communication

Carotenoids including beta-carotene stimulate gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) between cells. Impaired GJIC is associated with uncontrolled cell proliferation, a hallmark of carcinogenesis. By upregulating connexin proteins that form gap junctions, carotenoids may help maintain normal growth regulation.

Supporting reproductive health

Beta-carotene appears to participate in female reproduction. The corpus luteum has the highest beta-carotene concentration of any organ in the body, suggesting a functional requirement, though the specific mechanism remains uncharacterized.

Deficiency symptoms

What are deficiency symptoms for beta-carotene?

Low dietary intake of beta-carotene is not known to directly cause disease in the short term. When vitamin A intake is simultaneously low, deficiency of beta-carotene and other provitamin A carotenoids can produce symptoms of vitamin A deficiency, including night blindness and xerophthalmia.

Long-term inadequate carotenoid intake is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Diets low in beta-carotene reduce the body’s capacity to quench reactive oxygen species, leaving lipid-rich cell membranes more vulnerable to peroxidation. This cumulative oxidative burden may accelerate chronic disease processes over decades.

Toxicity symptoms

What are toxicity symptoms for beta-carotene?

A tell-tale sign of excessive consumption of beta-carotene is a yellowish discoloration of the skin, most often occurring in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. This condition is called carotenodermia, and is reversible and harmless.

High intake of carotenoid-containing foods or supplements is not associated with any toxic side effects. As a result, the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences did not establish a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for carotenoids when it reviewed these compounds in 2000.

However, the results of two research studies indicate that those who smoke heavily and drink alcohol regularly, may increase their chance of developing lung cancer and/or heart disease if they take beta-carotene supplements in amounts greater than 20-30 milligrams per day.

Impact of cooking, storage and processing

How do cooking, storage, or processing affect beta-carotene?

In certain cases, cooking can improve the availability of carotenoids in foods. Lightly steaming carrots and spinach disrupts cell walls, improving intestinal carotenoid absorption.

Prolonged cooking, however, decreases carotenoid bioavailability by isomerizing the molecule from its natural all-trans configuration to less bioavailable cis forms. Fresh carrots contain 100% all-trans beta-carotene; canned carrots retain only about 73% in the all-trans form.

Factors that affect function

What factors might contribute to a deficiency of beta-carotene?

Carotenoids are fat-soluble and require dietary fat for absorption through the digestive tract. Carotenoid status may be impaired by extremely low-fat diets or by conditions that reduce fat absorption: pancreatic enzyme deficiency, Crohn’s disease, celiac sprue, cystic fibrosis, partial or total gastrectomy, gall bladder disease, and liver disease.

Many adolescents and young adults consume insufficient beta-carotene due to low fruit and vegetable intake. Cigarette smokers and regular alcohol drinkers tend to have lower serum beta-carotene. This reflects both reduced consumption of carotenoid-containing foods and accelerated carotenoid degradation by reactive constituents in cigarette smoke. Carotenoid supplementation in smokers warrants caution (see Toxicity section).

Nutrient interactions

How do other nutrients interact with beta-carotene?

Beta-carotene supplements reduce blood levels of lutein, suggesting competition for absorption at the intestinal level. These same supplements may increase circulating beta-cryptoxanthin.

Pectin supplementation may decrease carotenoid absorption by binding carotenoids in the intestinal lumen.

Health conditions

Carotenoids have been studied in connection with the following health conditions:

Food sources

What foods provide beta-carotene?

Beta-carotene is found in concentrated amounts in sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, turnip greens, winter squash, collard greens, cilantro, fresh thyme, cantaloupe, romaine lettuce and broccoli.

 

Food Source Analysis not Available for this Nutrient

Public health recommendations

What are current public health recommendations for beta-carotene and carotenoids?

No recommended dietary intake levels have been established for carotenoids. The Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the scientific literature on carotenoids in 2000.

Despite population-based research linking carotenoid-containing food consumption with reduced chronic disease risk, the Institute of Medicine concluded that the evidence was insufficient to set a required intake level. Whether the observed benefits stem from carotenoids or other bioactive compounds in the same foods remains unresolved.

The National Academy of Sciences supports recommendations encouraging five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This level of intake provides approximately three to six milligrams of beta-carotene.

References

Related Articles

References

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