Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid compound responsible for giving fruits and vegetables their orange pigment.

Beta-carotene is a fat-soluble vitamin, so eating it along with foods with fat such as olive oil or nuts, can help to boost absorption. (1)

Like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene is a precursor for creating vitamin A in the body. The amount of vitamin A is measured in retinol activity equivalents (RAE). (2) The current daily value for vitamin A is 900mcg of RAE. (3)

There is no official recommended daily allowance (RDA) for beta-carotene, but a figure of 10800mcg per day can be used as a general target. This is based on the rate of conversion of beta-carotene into vitamin A. It takes 12mcg of beta-carotene to create 1mcg of RAE. (2)

Foods high in beta-carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, butternut squash, cantaloupe, lettuce, red bell peppers, apricots, broccoli, and peas.

Below is a list of the 10 best beta-carotene foods. Use the nutrient ranking of over 200 foods high in beta-carotene to sort by 100 gram serving sizes and find even more foods.

List of Foods High in Beta-Carotene

Where does the RDA for Beta-Carotene come from?

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily requirement for a particular nutrient.

The daily value (%DV) for an vitamin A is 900mcg RAE (retinol equivalents). (3)

For beta-carotene from foods, 12 mcg of beta-carotene is converted to 1mcg RAE (vitamin A) in the body. (2) This means that the the RDA for beta-carotene is equal to the %DV for vitamin A times 12. We use the 900mcg DV to set the RDA for beta-carotene, so it is 900mcg x 12 = 10800mcg (10.8mg). This is the amount that you would need if you were getting all of your vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene.

The 10800mcg can be used for comparison purposes and is not necessarily a target amount to eat in a day. This is because the target is a total of 900mcg RAE. Other sources of RAE, including alpha-carotene and vitamin A, contribute to this total.

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Data Sources and References

  1. Ribaya-Mercado JD. Bioavailability of beta-carotene in humans Nutr Rev. 2002 Apr;60(4):104-10. doi: 10.1301/00296640260085831. 12002680
  2. National Library of Medicine - Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc.
  3. U.S.FDA - Daily Value on the New Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels
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