Want Glowing Skin? Crunch a Carrot

There's so much evidence in favor of a diet rich in antioxidants for other health problems, like heart disease, that it doesn't hurt to ensure that you consume your fair share of vitamins A,C and E. To get the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, is it better to eat a carrot or swallow a vitamin supplement? Most experts recommend the carrot. There's no substitute for getting nutrients through food. The body absorbs and assimilates them far better than in supplement form.

To feed your skin with antioxidants, eat three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit a day, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid. For vitamin C, choose at least one citrus fruit - an orange, a grapefruit - every day. And to increase your intake of beta-carotene, make sure you eat at least two orange-yellow or leafy green vegetables a day.

The RDAs for antioxidiants are very small. Drinking a cup of orange juice and eating one carrot a day will give you twice the RDAs of vitamin C and beta-carotene. But you may find it harder to meet the RDA for vitamin E, especially if less than 25 percent of your daily calories come from fat. If you're following a low-fat diet, don't be afraid to add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to your diet, or to eat some nuts or seeds.