Carrots – An Almost Unlimited Source Of Acne Clearing Nutrients

If you want to clear acne solely through the food on your plate, then one secret weapon which you cannot miss is the common grocery store carrot.

Carrots are perhaps the single best way to flood your skin with antioxidants and vitamins with no hidden catch. They’re bursting with acne nutrition, yet have almost no downsides when eaten.

There are many foods which you can take advantage of for acne. Eggs are a good breakfast food for supplying your skin with the strengthening proteins it needs. If you still believe that benzoyl peroxide is your only hope, then understand now that the foods you eat are ten times more important than hygiene. But few foods compare to carrots in the huge quantities you can eat, again and again.

Read on, and find out why feasting on carrots is one of the simplest nutritional hacks for acne available.

 

Carrots are extremely nutritious but close to zero calories

In most respects, the carrot is only a moderately nutritious vegetable for acne. It contains 10% of the daily allowance for vitamin C per 100 grams of raw slices; that’s nothing compared to broccoli with 148%. There’s only 3% of the RDA for magnesium and 3% of the allowance for vitamin E. The zinc content is 0mg.

But where carrots beat all almost other foods is in their plant-based vitamin A and carotenoid antioxidants. 

One cup of chopped carrots weighing in at 128 grams contains 428% of the RDA for vitamin A, all in the form of plant-based carotenoids. Other vitamins are just as valuable for acne; vitamin E ends clogged pores while vitamin C is involved with skin protein construction. Vitamin A, however, is the top vitamin found in nature for oily skin. It binds to specialised receptors in the sebaceous glands, downregulating their output.

The end result which you see in the mirror – less clogged pores and acne.

Carrots deliver all this in spades, and the quality that makes them truly exceptional is their complete lack of calories. A  cup of carrots contains only 53, and better yet, a good 7 don’t actually function as calories because they’re from fiber. The real count is more like 46. It’s commonly believed that 1 gram of fiber contains 3.75 calories, but it actually contains 1.75.

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Consider sweet potatoes. They’re one of my favourite skin-clearing foods precisely because of their vitamin A (283% of the RDA). However, their calorie count is in the hundreds; I recommend them most strongly as a heavy starchy carbohydrate for after the gym or for your daily energy requirements. If you have 100 calories to spare in a day before obesity suddenly kicks in, you can add nearly 300 grams of carrots.

Carrots are also highly convenient. Sweet potatoes have to be roasted in the oven for 35 minutes for optimal taste. Kale must be steamed for 5 minutes, and still doesn’t taste great.

Carrots, meanwhile, can be chopped up and added to a salad, soup, or eaten on their own. They taste perfectly fine and you can gnaw on a whole carrot while on the move, like a rabbit.

 

The acne powers of carotenoids

The vitamin A content of carrots would be enough for acne, but the carotenoids double their power.

The type of vitamin A in carrots is plant based carotenoids, pro-vitamin A compounds which have to be converted to active vitamin A before they improve acne. Of the 600 plus carotenoids identified in nature so far, only a fraction are able to be converted – like beta carotene, alpha carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin. The rest remain behind to function as antioxidants, preventing oil from mutating into the nightmare free radical squalene peroxide.

This is the “normal” way that antioxidants prevent acne, which vitamin E also acts through. But carotenoids are particularly special, and can enrich your skin beyond the bread and butter powers of normal plant antioxidants:

Skin tone – carotenoids accumulate in human skin when eaten in the diet, and contribute measurably and significantly to healthy human skin colour (study). This 2015 study found that carotenoid consumption contributed towards skin yellowness, or the much coveted “glow”.

35 people ate a variety of fruits and vegetables in this study, and the ones rich in carotenoids caused perceptible improvements in skin tone in just six weeks. The perfect number of fruit and vegetables to make your skin more attractive was reportedly 3.3.

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This study tested two specific carotenoids found in carrots, lutein and zeaxanthin, on 50 healthy volunteers. The study was randomised, double-blind, and tested against a placebo, the gold standard of research.

After 12 weeks, overall skin tone was significantly improved in the carotenoid group. The conclusion: “L/Zi supplementation lightens and improves skin conditions”.

Slower ageing – research from South Korea found that doubling your intake of carotenoids was able to extend telomere length in DNA by 2%. Telomere length is one of the main focuses of the anti-ageing revolution. The specific carotenoids examined were alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Good news – carrots contain them all.

Resistance to sunlight – in the study on lutein and zeaxanthin above, the minimal erythemal dose increased significantly.

The MED measures how long human skin can survive in sunlight before irritation and inflammation kicks in. This wider review on carotenoids and skincare found a measureable photo-protective effect against UV rays, which correlated closely to levels in skin tissue.

By eating more carrots, you will achieve two things. Less oily skin and acne because of the vitamin A, and younger and brighter skin thanks to the carotenoids.

 

Carrots are one the safest vegetables for acne

Reinforcing these benefits is the carrot’s complete lack of side effects. In fact, compared with tomatoes or onions, very few acne-clearing enthusiasts report in with outbreaks at all.

There are some plant foods which have proven benefits for acne but nevertheless have to be controlled. A classic example is pineapple, which enhances protein digestion but is moderately high in sugar.

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Carrots, however, are completely safe. Speaking of sugar, carrots contain only 5 grams per 100 grams. After eating 5 medium sized carrots, you only accumulate 15 grams. What’s more, the sugar is molecularly bound to high quantities of fibre (3.6 grams per 100 grams), which delays the absorption and minimises the acne. Carrots are also one of the cherished low FODMAP foods, unlike garlic or tomatoes, another carotenoid source.

Finally, there’s very few natural plant toxins, like tomatine in tomato, and those which do exist are extremely safe for acne.

Carrots contain myristicin, a psychoactive insecticide produced by plants to naturally ward off pests. Myristicin causes psychological symptoms such as euphoria and a feeling of irresponsibility when eaten. As well as carrots, myristicin is found in black pepper, dill, nutmeg and parsley. Myristicin is actually a precursor to MDMA; many ecstasy users are obsessed with getting high off nutmeg for that reason. The legends say that myristicin produces a classical psychedelic experience.

Overall, an overdose is said to feel similar to alcohol intoxication. The side effects include nausea, but there’s none of the inflammation of other plant toxins, as studies on myristic show mildly anti-inflammatory properties.

Furthermore, carrots contain only low levels; the foodstuffs with the heaviest concentrations are nutmeg and mace. The verdict: safe for acne.

Other “toxins” in carrots are just as benign. Carrots contain inflammatory oxalates, but only in microscopic levels compared to spinach or rhubarb, and even spinach only triggers acne in the sensitive.

Like parsnip, parsley and celery, they’re known for their furocoumarins, compounds which increases sensitivity to UV radiation. Furocoumarins like psolaren are the reason why lemon juice is a terrible topical treatment for acne, but luckily these effects only occur topically. At best you should ignore any corrupt skincare merchants trying to sell you a carrot cream or carrot ointment.

 

Any more compounds in carrots?

Their vitamin C is another decent bonus. 10% of the RDA (6mg) is beaten easily by strawberries with 97%, but it’s still enough to pile up your intake fast if you eat them constantly. Vitamin C regulates stress hormones, which can make you unbelievably relaxed at doses above 1000mg, and is a cofactor in the production of the structural skin protein collagen.

Beta-cryptoxanthin, meanwhile, is a carotenoid used as an orange food colouring. However, this study found that adding the amount of beta cryptoxanthin found in a freshly squeezed orange was enough to prevent many inflammatory diseases (acne is one of them).

Then you have the powers unrelated to acne. This study found improved night vision from carrots in women, while no other food rich in carotenoids did the same. This study found that the carrot compound luteolin could reduce brain fog, protect neurons, and increase attention span. Carrots are extremely cheap, and a great way to take your health and skin through the roof.

 

Are organic carrots important?

Carrots are an medium food for pesticides, appearing in neither the dirty dozen nor the clean fifteen.

The most common pesticide on them is linuron, found on 70.7% of carrot samples, which is linked to inflammation in humans. Old orchard carrots are grown in old soil which was once blasted with arsenic pesticides, and hence, low levels of arsenic end up in the carrot. Arsenic causes acne by ramping up keratin production and binding dead skin cells together.

Another advantage of organic carrots is that they’re extremely cheap compared to other organic produce. Here in the UK, you can buy 750 grams of conventional carrots for 45p and the same weight of organic ones for just £1.

However, peeling the carrot lightly will remove a vast swathe of the agrochemicals. Carrots grown in modern fields contain far less arsenic, low enough to detoxify easily. Unlike with broccoli or strawberries, the extra nutrients in organic carrots aren’t worth your while; there’s so much vitamin A already that a few extra milligrams will get lost in a sea of clear skin.  

Overall then, you have nothing to worry about. If you have the money, just buy organic carrots and achieve peace of mind.

If you don’t, then wash and peel your carrots thoroughly. Make sure that your zinc and selenium levels are in check so that you can detoxify the contaminants easily.

Finally… that’s all you have to do. Carrots are nowhere near the worst food for pesticides; strawberries and apples have that honour. If there’s one secret trick you could use, you could peel an extra thick layer off the carrots to remove the last traces of pesticides. Carrots are so cheap that you could throw in a couple of extra ones to compensate for the lost inner flesh.

 

Secret trick – eat your carrots with avocado

The fact is that you’ll improve your acne simply by purchasing a carrot from the grocery store and biting into it in the car park, but there’s a few bonus tricks you can easily exploit.

Firstly, eat your carrot alongside fresh avocado. Carotenoids are fat-soluble antioxidants; they need fat both to improve your skin tone and convert to vitamin A. Any fatty food will do, from olive oil to grass-fed butter, but avocado has a study testing it on carrot juice specifically. Carotenoid absorption rose 6.6 fold, while alpha carotene increased 4.8 fold. What’s more, the conversion of carotenoids into active vitamin A shot up by 26%.

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Combine your carrots into a salad with avocado for maximum benefit, or throw them into a dish with almonds, butter, olive oil, macadamia nut oil, or any fatty food. Remember the general rule – saturated fats and monounsaturated fats are far superior to polyunsaturated ones for enhancing absorption.

The next question is storage, and there’s not much to worry about. A cool place is preferable, but vitamin C is the most vulnerable nutrient to depletion, in broccoli or lettuce, and with carrots we’re focussed on vitamin A.

 

Conclusion

The truth is clear – carrots are one of the ultimate secret foods for oily skin, and skin tone as a happy bonus. If you’ve crafted an acne-friendly diet and carrots aren’t in there, you’re missing a big opportunity.

You can eat three or four daily if you want. In fact, just half a carrot or even a quarter of a carrot would be miraculous if your current diet is lacking in fruit and vegetables.

The only downside is that carrots might turn your skin orange. The old tales are true; the myth originated from the observation of a very real condition called carotenoderma. This is caused by the glow of carotenoids going too far as they keep on accumulating.

Don’t worry though – proper carotenoderma is caused as much by inefficient metabolization of carotenoids as it is by eating too many. If carrots make you the colour of a carrot, then cut down your intake slightly. 

Are carrots a safe for food for acne? Yes, they’re only dangerous if you love having acne.  

NEXT: discover the root causes of acne and banish your pimples forever

 

 

Thanks for reading!