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Food can turn you orange

From underweight athletes to cancer-fighting vegetables, local readers seek advice

Date published: 10/5/2003

READERS' QUESTIONS always intrigue me: Local folks ask about such interesting things.

QI am the biggest junk-food eater in Fredericksburg, and I have a simple question: Can a person eat too many vegetables?

Simply stated, rather than eating chips or doughnuts every day for my snack, I am trying to eat carrots, but I usually eat a dozen. I figure there are no calories--is this OK? Appreciate your response.

--Bob Morgan, Fredericksburg

AIf you continue eating 12 carrots a day for several weeks or months, it may make your skin turn orange, especially the soles of your feet and palms of your hands. This effect, called carotenemia, is harmless. It's caused by the beta carotene, an orange pigment in carrots and other dark orange and dark green vegetables.

To avoid this, mix things up a bit. All nonstarchy vegetables are about as low in calories as carrots. Try munching on cherry tomatoes, rings of sweet pepper or slices of cucumber.

QMy 20-year-old son, who is in college, has decided to try a vegetarian diet for a few months to see how he likes it (he is still eating eggs and dairy products). He is very active, and his main sports are running and cycling.

He is about 6-foot-1, and weighs around 155 to 160 pounds. Our diet at home tends to be fairly low in meat and fish anyway, but he wants to completely eliminate these foods while he is away at school. My only concern is that he still get the nutrition he needs, considering his age and level of activity. He does take a multivitamin. Can you give me any guidance?

--Name withheld

AA vegetarian diet can be incredibly healthy: Track athlete Carl Lewis, winner of nine Olympic gold medals, is an example of a famously fit vegetarian.

However, your son is underweight, and I worry that he needs to be eating more food, not less. Your son's ideal body weight is roughly 185 pounds, so he is only about 86 percent of his ideal weight. Anyone weighing less than 90 percent is considered at risk for malnutrition. This may not be the best time to eliminate food groups.

However, if your son has always been this thin, there's probably no need to worry.

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Date published: 10/5/2003