Eating Too Many Carrots Can Turn You Orange

It sounds like something out of a cartoon that eating a lot of carrots might make your complexion orange. It doesn't sound like it should be true, aside from the fact that the color of our food has minimal bearing on the color of our skin. But if you talk to a doctor, they'll have a quite different opinion. In fact, carrots are rich in beta-carotene, the pigment responsible for their orange or red color.

When consumed in moderation, it's a significant source of vitamin A, but if consumed in excess, beta-carotene may enter the bloodstream and begin to accumulate in the thicker parts of your skin, like the hands, turning them orange. Carotenemia is a disorder that primarily affects infants and those with medical illnesses like hypothyroidism that prevent the body from processing carotene.