A woman has the internet talking after claiming that a diet of carrots turned her skin orange.
Redditor u/AhsewkaTano posted to the r/mildlyinteresting subreddit, garnering over 78,000 upvotes, sharing side-by-side photos of herself titled, “Carotenosis before and after.”
The left image, she says, was taken in December, when she was still eating carrots every day. The right one shows her more recently, after making a change in her routine.
The difference in skin tones is pretty noticeable. On the left, her face appears noticeably orange-tinted, while the tone on the right has no orange hue at all.
What did her diet look like?
In the comments, she explained how it might’ve happened.
“I used to eat a bowl of cottage cheese with a pile of carrots for lunch because I love them and they’re cheap,” she wrote. “But now I don’t do that so much anymore.”
As for how much she was eating? “Maybe around 300 grams a day? So a little more than half a pound a day?” she added.
What is carotenosis? And how does it happen?
The condition is known as carotenosis, or carotenoderma, per DermNet. According to the dermatology site, it’s typically caused by an excessive intake of beta-carotene, which gives carrots their bright orange color.
While it’s not dangerous or harmful, it can cause the skin to take on a yellow-orange tint, especially on the palms, soles, and face.
Experts, per Medscape, say it’s more common in young children or people who follow restrictive diets, such as vegetarians.
Carotenosis before and after. Left was me in December, right is me now after I stopped eating carrots every day.
byu/AhsewkaTano inmildlyinteresting
What did the internet say?
In the comments, people shared their own orange-hued experiences—or those of friends and family.
“I used to work for an organic juice factory where the pay was crap but you could drink all the juice you wanted,” one person wrote. “I had more than a few coworkers that had an orange tint. But dang, super fresh carrot juice is delicious!”
Another added, “When I was a baby I LOVED squash and carrots… I would pretty much eat nothing else lol.”
Some were just there for the laughs. “I’m glad you recovered from ‘ate too many carrots disease,’” one person joked.
“My mom loved it till my nose turned a shade of orange like yours haha,” someone else chimed in.
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