Bright orange banana helps save sight of children

A BRIGHT orange banana that looks like a carrot could soon be helping to save the sight of children lacking vitamin A, it was reported yesterday.

The unusual fruit, known as a “karat,” has been grown for centuries in the Pacific islands of Micronesia to wean infants onto solid food. Like carrots, it is packed with beta-carotene.

New Scientist reported: “steam-boiling karats makes more carotenoids available to the body. But they can also be eaten ripe and raw.”