Beta carotene is a yellow, orange, or reddish pigment in the carotenoid family that may help lower the risk of heart disease, vision problems, and cancer. It can also support a deeper tan when you eat beta carotene-rich foods for several days before sun exposure.
Beta carotene is found mainly in fruits and vegetables, including carrots, apricots, peaches, and dark leafy greens like spinach and broccoli. These foods are common in an everyday US diet and are easy to add to meals and snacks.
Many of beta carotene’s benefits come from its antioxidant activity. Your body can also convert beta carotene into vitamin A, which helps protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Health benefits
The main benefits of beta carotene include:
1. Protecting the skin
Beta carotene can help protect the skin from sunburn and may help prevent premature skin aging, wrinkles, and skin cancer. This is largely linked to its antioxidant properties, which help limit free-radical damage in skin cells related to oxidative stress.
2. Supporting healthy vision
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements, beta carotene is a provitamin A carotenoid that the body can convert into vitamin A.
Because it’s a precursor to vitamin A, eating beta carotene-rich foods supports vision by helping the body produce pigments in the retina that are involved in night vision and how the eyes detect light.
It may also help lower the risk of age-related macular degeneration, as well as cataracts and night blindness.
3. Reducing cancer risk
Some studies suggest that regularly eating beta carotene-rich foods may help reduce the risk of certain cancers, such as lung, skin, mouth cancer, and neuroblastoma. This potential effect is linked to its strong antioxidant activity.
4. Helping support a tan
Foods rich in beta carotene can help the skin tan more quickly by supporting melanin production, the pigment that gives skin its color. To notice this effect, it’s recommended to eat these foods 2 to 3 times a day for at least 7 days before your first sun exposure.
5. Reducing the risk of respiratory diseases
Eating foods rich in beta carotene may help reduce the risk of respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and lung cancer. This is linked to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, along with support for lung function.
6. Helping treat erythropoietic protoporphyria
Beta carotene can be part of the treatment for people with erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare inherited condition where sunlight exposure can trigger skin damage due to increased sun sensitivity.
In people with this condition, taking larger amounts of beta carotene can gradually reduce sensitivity to sunlight. However, a doctor may lower the dose as symptoms improve.
7. Protecting heart health
Consuming beta carotene may help lower the risk of heart disease, since carotenoids may help protect blood vessels and, as a result, help prevent heart attacks.
Beta carotene may also help lower homocysteine levels, an amino acid in blood plasma that’s associated with conditions such as stroke, coronary artery disease, and heart attack.
Food sources
The table below shows the amount of beta carotene per 100 g of various beta carotene-rich foods:
Eating 3 to 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables that contain beta carotene provides, on average, 6 to 8 mg of beta carotene, which is enough to get its benefits.
Supplement use
In addition to food sources, beta carotene is available as a capsule supplement and can be found in pharmacies, health food stores, or online. It’s important to use it only with guidance from a doctor or registered dietitian.
In general, the dose for adults is 6 to 15 mg per day. For people with erythropoietic protoporphyria, the dose may range from 30 to 300 mg per day.
Excess beta carotene
Too much beta carotene, whether from capsules or food, can cause carotenemia, a harmless yellow-orange skin discoloration.
According to the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, carotenodermia is the most common effect of long-term excess beta carotene consumption, and typically improves after stopping or reducing beta carotene intake.