If you’re a parent, you’ll
know the feeling of telling your child just about anything to get them to
behave. There’s something about the gullibility and innocence of kids that
makes them all the more adorable. Mothers and Fathers the world over have come
up with different stories to encourage their kids or to eat their vegies, which
are generally not popular among with the young.
The idea that carrots can help
people see better in the dark initially seems like a good example; a harmless
white lie that parents tell so their children finish their dinner. After all,
who wouldn’t want better nocturnal vision?
That said, there must be something behind the myth that led it to become so widely known and appreciated. Perhaps carrots don’t give us a superhuman ability to see in the dark (which is how kids probably interpret the information) but couldn’t the cliché have come about due to some mild benefit that carrot has to our eyesight?
This question has been put to
the test on a number of occasions. Likely, the basis of the old adage (if you
will) extends from the fact that carrots are very high in vitamin A, which is
vital for sight. Nutritionists say that deficiencies in the vitamin can lead to
poor eyesight, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that consuming more and more
improves our vision in constant proportion.
Dr. Andrew Rochford, the media
personality, put the idea that carrots help you see in the dark to t he test by
consuming 15 kg’s of the vegetable over some 10 days. Andrew’s eyesight was
tested in various lights prior to the experiment and again having eaten all
those carrots. Unfortunately, there were no drastic improvements to the
doctor’s vision in the dark or otherwise, which confirms that making the claim
is somewhat misleading. However, if you are deficient in Vitamin A, your
eyesight will suffer, in which case consuming carrots may improve it.
This explains part of the
reason for the saying, however not all. In World War II, the British Ministry
of Food spread a propaganda story that eating carrots had helped the Air Force
defeat the Nazi Bombers at night. However, the true reason that they were able
to do so was interception radar, which allowed the pilot to be able to pinpoint
their enemies’ location. Not only did this rumour help protect the Brits’
secret weapon, but it also encouraged the folks back home to eat more healthy!
