Recipes
Parmesan-Coated Sweet Potato Fries
Buying Tips
When shopping for foods rich in beta-carotene, let colors guide you. The best sources come in bright packages — orange and yellow fruits and vegetables (such as apricots, cantaloupes, carrots, mangoes, pumpkins, squash, and sweet potatoes) as well as dark-green vegetables (such as
broccoli
, collard greens, and
spinach
). In general, the deeper the color, the more beta-carotene a food contains. Although overdose of beta-carotene is unlikely to be dangerous (your body will use only enough to produce the vitamin A it needs), you might wonder whether eating carrots with reckless abandon will make you turn orange. Not to worry. Although it's true that consuming high doses of beta-carotene in supplements or foods can turn the skin yellowish, the condition (known as carotenodermia) poses no health risks and disappears when you cut back on these foods for a few days.
In general, you don't have to make major changes to increase the amount of beta-carotene in your diet. “Getting more is often a matter of making substitutions,” says Billie McGuire-Novak, R.D., a dietitian and nutritionist in Marathon, Florida. Choose sweet potatoes over white; make your salads with spinach (adding some walnuts to help your body better absorb this fat-soluable nutrient); snack on a slice of apricot; or drink carrot juice instead of orange. Or you can try the following beta-carotene-filled recipes.
Pass on the Supplements
You may be tempted to take beta-carotene in pill form, thinking it offers more-powerful protection than its dietary counterpart. But many studies have shown that supplements don't offer the same health protection as natural beta-carotene, especially in high-risk groups like smokers. In fact, supplements often contain such high amounts of beta-carotene that it competes with absorption of other carotenoids, which disrupts the balance of nutrients in the body.
