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Low carotenoid foods that are out of the norm
My motivation to make this list comes from the lack of mentions of any of these foods, as well as the abundance of lutein rich foods that people seem to gravitate towards on this diet.
This list is comprised of foods that are low in EVERY kind of carotenoids, including lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, lycopene and the like.
Most of these foods are quite difficult to come by, but if you do, you may as well give them a shot.
#8: Quince (Peeled) - Probably the blandest fruit I've ever had, and its texture is very similar to that of an unripe apple. It's low in simple sugars and, much like apple, it has a bunch of pectin. Great choice for a condition called 'fructose-phobia' and its relative 'sucrose-phobia'.
#7: Beef Lungs - A lean, spongy organ that that tastes somewhat sour. They tend to have a little more VA than muscle meat, but they're very high vitamin c and b12, and it's quite palatable for how lean it is. I would still suggest you find a good recipe for them, though.
#6: Cranberry Juice - Amazing source of iodine, and I bet most people following a strict meat/beans/rice diet are gonna run low on it. I suggest you dilute it in some water, since it's pretty acidic.
#5: Cassava - Great to use as flour for baking on a special occasion. The chad version of coconut and almond flour combined. Be wary of the oxalate content, though.
#4: Acacia honey - This honey variety is probably the lowest in carotenoids. Its taste is rather mild and it's quite expensive, but it should satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.
#3: Pomelo (White variety) - For those of you worried about 'muh vitamin C', one of these should give you enough vitamin C for at least a week. It tastes like a hybrid between kiwi and lemons. Peeling it is quite a hassle btw.
#2: Beef Heart - Aka muscle meat's older brother; Much higher in B vitamins but worse mineral profile; Highest in CoQ10 out of any food; It is a lean and chewy yet easily edible cut that is quite inexpensive. Imo the ideal red meat intake should be a split between regular muscle meat and heart. You should find it at any reputable butcher.
#1: Dragon fruit (White variety) - Arguably the best opportunity cost on the list in terms of convenience and nutrition; Doesn't taste like much, but it is very refreshing; It has a hefty amount of folate, vitamin c and electrolytes without having to cook it. It's relatively hard to find and somewhat expensive.
Honorable Mentions: celeriac, parsnip, lychees, cod fillet, scallops;
Last but not least, don't forget to drink your carrot juice, kids.
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I've had beef heart and it is very yummy. Beefy!
I was just leafing through a seed catalog and saw pineberries, which appear to be white strawberries
And I saw white eggplant.
Eggplants and strawberries derive their color from anthocyanins, so they're fine to consume regardless.
Now what truly is a contender is white mangos.
Thank you @andrei where do you get this info? I've tried various web searches, but I've found inconsistent and conflicting information. Is there some lab I could send samples to? I'd love to have current information from a lab about a bunch of foods, that measures the carotenes, luteins, retinoids, etc.
For instance, ginger. Does that have any vitamin A in it? I'd love to add ginger back to the repertoire. Same with various herbs and spices. For onions, is it just the bulb that doesn't have vitamin A, or are the scallions (green spring onions) also vitA free? I was shocked at how much vitA is in a half gram per day dose of cayenne pepper; I thought it was a health food! How about coriander, fennel, carraway, and celery seeds? How about cinnamon bark? Ceylon vs Saigon cinnamon? Because of the yellow color I'd assume turmeric had carotenes, but now you mention anthocyanins, I'd like to know for sure.
I generally use nutritiondata.self.com to check for the main carotenoids, but they don't always have precise or even any data at all, in which case I just type into google scholar "[x] carotenoid content" or "[x] [any carotenoid] content" and you'll usually find at least 1 to 2 studies covering it.
I do have a list of foods that COULD be safe, but there's either little data to validate it or the samples vary too much in their carotenoid content (e.g. potatoes and soy beans).
According to this, an ounce of ginger root is 600 IU of beta carotene. Too bad.
Also, I'm not in a rush to recommend too many foods high in anthocyanins since our understanding of how it might interact with vA metabolism is quite nebulous. I don't shy away from black beans since anthocyanins get severely degraded the longer you cook them, and cranberry juice isn't a good idea to consume tons of regardless, since too much iodine is known to be problematic.
I would also be curious how chlorophyll might interact with various carotenoids, but I haven't found any good literature on it that revolves around the human metabolism.
I have a friend who has been sharing cranberry juice, and telling lots of stories about how it has helped people. His friend owns a juice factory and several cranberry fields, so he has been handing out bottles of pure, organic cranberry juice that have never been concentrated; just pure juice. So it is a big relief to find out there is no vitA in it, and even better to find out it is a natural source of iodine. Now that I've found out Lugol's solution of iodine isn't good for us, I was wonder how to boost dietary iodine without eating seaweed And now in another thread someone mentioned that seaweed is also high in carotenes! As well as bromine, etc. So my years long avoidance of seaweed had good foundation. Cranberry juice. Good stuff. Locally grown. Ounce per day. Diluted 10:1 Wonder what the story is with tart cherry juice.