We have all heard that carrots improve night vision, but is this the truth? Optometrists will tell you that carrots can't prevent you from needing eye glasses. However, they are rich in beta-carotene, a vitamin that is very good for your eye health and therefore consuming carrots and other beta-carotene rich foods is surely a recommendation for maintaining eye health.

Beta-carotene is a carotenoid, or orange pigment that changes into vitamin A once absorbed in the human body. Vitamin A helps to protect the cornea, or surface of the eye, and has been proven to be preventative for certain eye diseases such as corneal ulcers. Vitamin A, an antioxidant compound, protects the cornea to reduce the frequency of eye infections as well as other infectious diseases. Vitamin A is also known to be an effective treatment for dry eye syndrome as well as other eye conditions. A deficiency of vitamin A (which is be more common in poor and developing countries) is known to cause night blindness, corneal ulcers and retinal damage which can contribute to blindness.

There are two forms of vitamin A, which relate to the nutritional source from which they come. Retinol is vitamin A that comes from an animal source such as beef, chicken liver, or dairy products. Vitamin A that is produce-derived exists in the form of ''provitamin A'' carotenoids, which break down to retinol after the food is digested. In addition to carrots, carotenoids can be found in colorful fruits and vegetables such as oranges, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale and cantaloupes.

It is proven that vitamin A is beneficial to your eyes as well as your total health. Although carrots themselves won't correct corneal refraction which causes vision impairments, mother was right when she said ''eat your carrots.''