1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bomb here. If your skin begins 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: turning orange, you may feel like the star of a 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: sci fi flick, but there's most likely a more down 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: to earth explanation. Red orange and yellow fruits and vegetables 6 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,119 Speaker 1: often get their color from a pigment called beta carotene, 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: which our bodies also happen to use to make vitamin A, 8 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: which is one of the essential vitamins for human health. 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: That means it's a vitamin that our bodies need in 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: order to function properly, but our bodies can't produce it 11 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: on their own, but we need to eat particular foods 12 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: to help out. Vitamin A is involved in all sorts 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: of important bodily processes. It's a component in one of 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: the proteins that make our eyes work. It helps our 15 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: immune system function, and it supports cell growth in organs 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: like the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Lucky for us, carrots, cantaloupe, apricots, mangoes, oranges, 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: pumpkin squashs, potatoes, and other red orange foods can be 18 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: chock full of beta carotene, so chuck full, in fact, 19 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,479 Speaker 1: that when eaten in large amounts, they can sometimes cause 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: people to develop an orange skin tone. What happens here 21 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: is that eating an excessive amount of foods containing beta 22 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: carotene can cause an overabundance of this pigment in the bloodstream, 23 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: which in turn builds up in the areas of the 24 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: body with thicker skin, hands, knees, elbows, feet, and the 25 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: folds around the nose and produces there a visible orange 26 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: ish hue. This is called carotenemia, and while the condition 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: is more visible on people who have light colored skin, 28 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: people of any skin color can be affected. Carotinemia isn't 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: terribly common, even for people who are fruit and vegetable enthusiasts. 30 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: It's usually the result of a restricted diet that includes 31 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: large quantities of some specific fruit or vegetable that's high 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: in beta carotene. There are hundreds of different carotenoid pigments 33 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: aside from the common beta variant. They're actually named after 34 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: carrots because the researcher who first identified these molecules was 35 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 1: working with carrot juice. Credit for that goes to German 36 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: pharmacist Heinrich Vilheim Ferdinand Wachnroeder. In the eighteen thirties. These 37 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: pigments are also what's responsible for yellow and orange coloration 38 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: in cultured butter and cheeses that haven't been dyed. That's 39 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,079 Speaker 1: because carrotenoid pigments also occur in fresh grass, and when 40 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: a cow eats that grass, the pigments wind up in 41 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: the cow's milk, blocked away in fat molecules that get 42 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: broken up when the milk is turned into butter or 43 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: cheese like cheddar. A large carrot has about six melograms 44 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: of beta carotene. These six milligrams will convert to about 45 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: a thousand micrograms of vitamin A in the human body, 46 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: which is a little bit more than the recommended daily intake, 47 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: but even so, with about a twelve to one beta 48 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: carotene to vitamin A conversion rate, you'd need to eat 49 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty to three hundred carrots per day 50 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: for several weeks, assuming that that was your only source 51 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: of the pigment for it to start showing up in 52 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: your skin. While orange, yellow, and red fruits and veggies 53 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: are the primary cause of carotonemia, it can also be 54 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: caused by foods of other colors. A justice beta carotene 55 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 1: is found in grass. It's also found in cabbage, spinach, kiwi, asparagus, 56 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,119 Speaker 1: and apples, just to name a few. But as long 57 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: as you don't overdo it, eating produce that contains beta 58 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: carotene is great for you. A study published in the 59 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: American Journal of Public Health in reported that eating just 60 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: two extra portions of fruits and vegetables a day for 61 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: six weeks caused a detectible change in skin tone, in 62 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: that it produced a healthier glow. Today's episode is based 63 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: on the article It's true eating too many carrots can 64 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: turn your skin orange on how stuff works dot Com, 65 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: written by Laurel Dove. Brain Stuff is production of I 66 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership of how stuff Works dot Com, 67 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: and it is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts 68 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 69 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.