Why Are Carrots Good for Your Eyes?

Overview

Today we're focusing on a very common vegetable and digging into the interesting past of the carrot. We'll start from the Age of Exploration, move on to the Dutch royal family, then to Britain during World War II, and see how the "idea" (yes, in quotation marks) that carrots are good for your eyes took root in people's minds.

What comes to mind when you think of carrots? I think we've all been nagged by our elders to eat more carrots because they're good for your eyes and will sharpen your vision. But carrots have a distinctive taste. Those who like them really like them, while kids who don't like them won't eat them no matter how much you coax or persuade. That's when parents start cajoling and tricking: carrots are very nutritious, and they're good for your eyes. Only then does the child reluctantly take a bite.

Today, let's take a careful look at why carrots are said to be good for your eyes. What does "good" mean here? Does it mean they have an advantage or benefit? Can they improve nearsightedness? Or will they make your eyes bright and sparkling? In this episode of Cold-Knowledge Blind Box, we'll talk properly about the carrot.

The "Hu" in Carrot?

If carrots have any outstanding feature, it's already shown by their distinctive, highly saturated red-orange color. Walk through the produce section of a supermarket and you'll spot carrots right away. And the character "胡" (hu) in the Chinese name for carrot tells us that this plant is not originally from China. The Chinese first encountered carrots in the Yuan dynasty. To tell them apart from the native radish, people added the character "胡," a term used for foreign things.

Have you noticed that such bright, saturated color is quite unusual in nature? A color that vivid is basically writing "eat me, I'm right here" across its face. Of course, poisonous mushrooms can also be very bright. But how did a food that spends most of its life underground develop such eye-catching color?

Could it be artificial? Yes, exactly. This unnatural color is the result of deliberate breeding. Wild radishes came in just a few single colors, and their roots were tangled, even a bit like fleeceflower root, very different from the carrots we know today. So who bred this red-orange carrot that became popular all over the world?

Starting in the Middle Ages

The story begins in medieval Europe. People widely suffered from night blindness, so they could only be active during the day, and at night they couldn't see anything around them. At that time there was a Persian doctor named Amolis, a giant in the field of medicine. He discovered that carrots had miraculous effects and could be used to regulate the body's condition. Over several hundred years of trade, this discovery spread throughout Europe.

Then, as Europe entered the Age of Exploration, sailors at sea faced very harsh conditions. Long voyages and limited food supplies meant that a long lack of fresh vegetables and fruit led to falling levels of vitamin A in the body, which often went hand in hand with night blindness. Sailing ships drifted across the vast ocean, and sailors had to carry out many tasks at night or in low light, such as keeping watch on the route and observing buoys and lighthouses. Someone also had to climb high up the masts to navigate the ship. On the boundless sea, the only light source was the moonlight, so a sailor with night blindness could see nothing and was in great danger. Night blindness could affect a ship's navigation and safety.

Carrots contain enough fiber and water, which helps them keep their moisture, texture and freshness. Carrots can also be preserved by chopping, drying or dehydrating, all of which extend their storage life. But it's important to note that people at the time already knew carrots and certain vegetables and fruits could relieve night blindness, yet poor storage conditions meant that only a very limited range of foods could be taken on ships. Lemons and carrots were among the few vegetable options. It wasn't until the discovery of vitamin A in the 20th century that people finally understood what factor was actually causing night blindness.

Well, back to our story. We find that the spread of carrots is closely tied to sailors. Sailors set out from Europe to every corner of the world, and carrots completed their own journey around the globe. But carrots at that time were not the red-orange ones we know today. They were white or pale yellow.

The Red-Orange Carrot 🥕

So where did the red-orange carrot come from? The answer is the Netherlands. Because it was their royal color.

What?

The orange of the Dutch royal family traces back to a brave Dutch nobleman, William I (William of Orange). At the time, Protestants in Europe were persecuted by Roman Catholic states, and William I, unafraid of powerful enemies, became a symbolic figure of the Dutch people's struggle for independence and freedom.

In the early days of the Dutch War of Independence, William I's supporters began wearing orange scarves and armbands on the battlefield. This bright, vivid color became one of the symbols of the independence struggle and greatly boosted morale. With the founding of the Dutch Republic, orange gradually became the color of the Dutch national flag, representing an unwavering pursuit of independence and freedom.

The Netherlands won independence in the 16th century, and by the 17th century it had become one of the leading seafaring powers, known as the "Carriers of the Seas." The Netherlands was also a famous center for flower and vegetable cultivation, and its people were devoted to the fine breeding and cultivation of plants. The Netherlands, having freed itself from Spain, had a strong sense of patriotism, and its gardeners held their royal color, orange, in high regard. Under these circumstances, it was perfectly natural to prioritize breeding and preserving orange carrots. On this basis, Dutch carrot varieties were introduced to other European countries and North America, and became one of the main vegetables grown around the world today.

You might say that the bright, elegant color of carrots is due to beta-carotene. But that would be jumping to conclusions, because beta-carotene was not discovered until the 19th century, and red-orange carrots had already become popular all over the world by then. Many vegetables, such as pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes and spinach, contain beta-carotene. It is a chemical that the human body can absorb and convert into vitamin A. And when the body lacks vitamin A, it can cause eye problems such as night blindness.

So we've finally figured it out: the substance that's good for your eyes is vitamin A, and the beta-carotene found in fruits and vegetables helps the body synthesize vitamin A. Vitamin A can help relieve night blindness, but for other eye conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, color blindness, cataracts, glaucoma and floaters, it probably doesn't help much.

So eating carrots is not fundamentally different from eating other fruits and vegetables. Then why are we so convinced that carrots are good for your eyes?

The Link to World War II

This myth is said to have come from a rumor that Britain deliberately fabricated during World War II. At that time, a Royal Air Force pilot named William West (John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham) was an outstanding fighter pilot. He was very skilled at night flying missions, mainly using optical lenses for navigation and tracking.

In a public interview, William West hinted that his night vision was exceptionally strong, thanks to eating large amounts of carrots every day. After that, the British government began to widely promote the idea that carrots could boost night vision, and used William West's story as proof. It is said the real purpose of this rumor was to cover up the fact that the British air force was using radar to track enemy aircraft, so that Germany would not find out.

Did the British really fool the Germans? Isn't the answer obviously no? Can a war be won by superhuman abilities? Not by science and technology? Germany's scientific level during World War II was by no means poor. During the war, the German air force already had very advanced radar technology that could accurately detect British air force activity in the dark, so they had no need to rely on eyesight to find targets.

Moreover, during World War II, Germany blockaded by means of submarine warfare, and British transport fleets only sailed at night. The Germans did not need the air force to spot their targets.

So let's make a more cynical assumption: the British government's propaganda was probably not directed at the outside world. It was meant to persuade the British public to reduce food waste and promote a wartime diet of hardy vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, so that the food saved could be prioritized for feeding soldiers.

Conclusion

Whatever the case, the interesting stories surrounding carrots have become part of history. We cannot deny that carrots are genuinely good for our health and vision, but perhaps the truth is often not as magical as the legend. Keep a level head and keep your curiosity. Until next time, see you on the next episode.

举