Can you really get a tan by eating carrots? TikTok trend explained
If some influencers on TikTok are to be believed, eating a handful of carrots a day will give you a tan. An account called isabelle.lux posted last week to claim that eating three carrots each day would make you orange. And the fad is spreading like wildfire. @isabelle.lux #stitch with @Isabelle ⚡️ Lux ?CARROT TAN 101 take Astaxanthin (i get mine on amazon) #carrottan #selftan #selftanroutine Tanning hack routine Carrot tan before and after results But like most things promoted by beauty grifters on the internet, all is not what it seems. Two dieticians wrote in The Conversation on 27 September that, no, you probably won't get that golden tan just from eating a couple of root vegetables. They are Lauren Ball, professor of community health and wellbeing at The University of Queensland, and Emily Burch, a dietitian, researcher and lecturer, Southern Cross University. Here’s what they had to say. What is Carotene? The reason carrots are orange is because they contain beta-carotene, a natural pigment. When you eat it, your gut breaks it down into vitamin A, which helps vision, reproduction, immunity and growth. If you eat too much beta-carotene, it stops breaking it down into vitamin A. Then your poo goes orange. (No, really.) The excess beta-carotene gets stored in the liver and fat tissue, write Ball and Burch, and is excreted through your poo, or removed via sweat glands in the outer layer of the skin. This is when your skin goes orange, or “tanned”. There’s even a medical name for the condition – carotenoderma – which sees the orange pigmentation concentrated in the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet and the smile lines near your nose. So how many carrots do you need? “A few days of high carrot intake will unlikely result in a change in skin colour,” Bell and Burch write. Moreover, “no high quality trials have been conducted to test the relationship between number of carrots eaten per day and skin colour changes or other outcomes”. One published case report found that for a person who ate around 3kg of carrots per week (about seven large carrots a day) found the colour of their skin started to change. Other experts have suggest you would need to eat at least ten carrots per day, for at least a few weeks, for colour changes to occur. The experts added: “Most people would find this carrot intake challenging.” Is that even good for you? And while they continue that myths around beta-carotene being toxic for humans don’t quite stack up, there is a potential danger. “There is, however, some evidence that taking high-dose beta-carotene supplements (20 mg per day or more) increases lung cancer risk in people who smoke cigarettes or used to smoke,” they wrote. “This may be due to changes to chemical signalling pathways.” The Cancer Council therefore recommends avoiding high doses of beta-carotene supplements (more than 20 mg per day). But the good news is that if you really want to go a strange orange hue, beta-carotene is also found in parsley, basil, chives, chilli powder and sun-dried tomatoes. So as far as real fruit and veg is concerned, you might as well crack on. Read the full article in The Conversation here. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Charting the Global Economy: Inflation Cools in US and Europe
Measures of underlying inflation cooled in the US and Europe in recent months, which could prompt the central
1970-01-01 08:00
Israeli conscripts banned as guards after allegations of sex with Palestinian inmate
The interior minister said no female soldiers would serve in prisons holding Palestinian "terrorirsts".
1970-01-01 08:00
Taiwanese sisters take gold in women's doubles tennis at the Asian Games
Taiwanese sisters Chan Yung-jan and Chan Hao-ching took gold Saturday in women’s doubles tennis at the Asian Games and are now looking ahead to next year’s Olympics in Paris
1970-01-01 08:00
Pep Guardiola calls for player strike as Erik ten Hag blames hectic schedule for Man Utd's injury woes
Pep Guardiola has urged players to protest the hectic football schedule which Erik ten Hag blames for Man Utd's injury crisis.
1970-01-01 08:00
Who is Lindsey Anderson Beer? Ex-Disney screenwriter suggests scrapping mother's death scene from 'Bambi' remake
Lindsey Anderson Beer said, 'I think some kids, some parents these days are more sensitive about than they were in the past'
1970-01-01 08:00
Detroit casino workers approve strike authorization at three casinos
Workers at three Detroit casinos have voted in favor of authorizing a strike, if necessary, the United Auto
1970-01-01 08:00
'The View' star Sunny Hostin reveals her 'Reality TV' dream job away from the morning show to producer Brian Teta
'The View' star Sunny Hostin expressed her desire to pursue a career in reality television away from the morning show
1970-01-01 08:00
As he turns 99, Jimmy Carter's hometown honors the former president as a global humanitarian -- and a good friend
More than 14,000 people have written to Jimmy Carter for his 99th birthday.
1970-01-01 08:00
Football transfer rumours: Barcelona prepare De Ligt move; Chelsea's Osimhen plan
Saturday's football transfer rumours, with updates on Matthijs de Ligt, Victor Osimhen, Jadon Sancho, Ivan Toney & more.
1970-01-01 08:00
Marco Silva hails ‘quality’ of Chelsea duo Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez
Fulham boss Marco Silva talked up “quality” Chelsea midfield pair Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez ahead of the west London derby at Craven Cottage. Chelsea broke the British transfer record twice this year, signing Fernandez from Benfica for a reported £106.8million in January before beating Liverpool to confirm the transfer of Caicedo from Brighton for £115m in August. Silva spoke on how the pair’s price-tags reflect their ability and expects them to bring the fight to Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha on Monday. “Enzo joined in January and Caicedo in the summer as well,” Silva said. “They’re quality. We are talking about two players they almost spent £250 million on. “This speaks about the quality and about how much they wanted them in their squad. “Plus (Conor) Gallagher in the midfield, they have the quality, the energy, they have the organisation to create a very good fight with our midfield line and I think it will be a very good fight because they have that quality.” Alex Iwobi’s second-half strike during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third round 2-1 victory over Norwich was his first Fulham goal since his reported £22million move from Everton on deadline day. They have the quality, the energy, they have the organisation to create a very good fight with our midfield line Marco Silva on Chelsea's midfield Silva, who also signed Iwobi as Everton manager in 2019, spoke on the Nigeria international’s versatility and what he offers to his squad. “It was very good (Iwobi’s performance against Norwich),” Silva added. “He’s a player I know really well, he knows the Premier League so well and he’s mature. He has the quality, can play in many different positions and is a player that will give us the quality that we need in certain parts of the game. “He provides that extra energy as well. It was good for him to score on his first game in a Fulham shirt and I want to see more of him. “He’s going to be a really important player for us and I am pleased for him for starting his first game.” From Chelsea’s starting XI during their 2-1 loss at Fulham in January, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah are the only remaining players at the club. Silva said: “They are different and we are different as well. I think the game is going to be completely different. We can have a look for some things, but it will be different. They have a different manager.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka add to USA woes with horror start to day two Europe look to extend Ryder Cup lead after keeping faith with foursomes pairs Ryder Cup day two: Europe aim to build on record-equalling start
1970-01-01 08:00
Man storms out of date after woman behaves 'disrespectfully' but not everyone agrees
A man has questioned whether he was wrong for storming out of a date after he says the woman behaved "disrespectfully" towards him - but people are divided on this matter. In a post to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole?" forum, the 34-year-old man has noted he was on a second date with the 31-year-old woman and "things seemed to be going great" until he left to go to the bathroom. "We went to a local bar and we were kissing, hugging, dancing, holding hands. Next thing you know I get up to go to the bathroom and when I come back she's at another table sitting with a guy and talking to him," he wrote. "We make eye contact, doesn't signal to tell me she needs five minutes and she doesn't wave me over." Time passed and the man had enough of waiting around for his date. "I wait for what felt like 10 minutes, sitting alone at the table. I finally decide to get up and leave. "I had picked her up so I'm not sure how she got home. I text her the next day to tell her it bothered me she started talking to other guys while we were on a date. No reply." To conclude, the man asked Redditors if he wrong for ditching his date after being left to sit on his own, and many people have weighed in with their thoughts. One person said: "What she did was rude. She SAW you, chose to ignore you and leave you alone for 10 minutes while she talked to another man. It wasn't on you to go up and introduce yourself to whomever she decided to chat with. You dodged a bullet." "It was a second date, you didn't lose much anyways. Let the trash take itself out," another person wrote. Someone else added: "NTA great job standing up for yourself by leaving. How rude of her to do that. Even if it was an old friend I knew, I'd leave them right away and simply say I'm on a date, good chat, gtg." While others believed he was in the wrong for his actions and that he jumped to conclusions. One person wrote: "YTA. Like you wrote in your other post and in comments, you ASSUMED the worst (that she was flirting with a stranger) instead of talking to a friend or someone she knew because in your words, your insecurity. "You said you didn’t see any body language that they were flirting." "YTA. [...] As a woman who has actually been in similar situations multiple times, what I do is I walk over and introduce myself to gauge the situation before jumping to conclusions," another person said. Someone else added: "YTA. Why not just walk over? She was probably waiting for you and then found it super weird that you just left. She could have been chatting with a friend or coworker. Even if it’s a random dude, she’s there with you and you said it was going well." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
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