Orange banana can save sight, says report

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 today.

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, which the body converts into vitamin A.

Today karats are rarely eaten in Micronesia because imported foods have grown in popularity.

But under a new screening programme on the islands the orange bananas could now routinely be given to children at risk of blindness because of vitamin A deficiency.

Experts looked at 21 types of native banana to find those with the highest levels of carotenoids.

They found that the karat had more than 25 times as much as beta-carotene as the traditional Cavendish banana.

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