Doctor, doctor

Dr Rosemary Leonard MBE is a GP with many years’ experience working in London’s top teaching hospitals

A friend tells me carrots really can help you see in the dark. Is this true?

Carrots are rich in beta carotene, which is converted to the active form of vitamin A, retinol, inside the body.

Vitamin A is required to make the chemical rhodopsin in special cells at the back of the eye that enable us to see at night. But it doesn’t have to come from carrots. Alternative sources include other brightly coloured fruit, such as peppers, tomatoes and avocados. Women need 600mcg a day.

Contact Dr Leonard at S Magazine, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP, or email dr.leonard@ express.co.uk. Dr Leonard regrets that she cannot reply personally to letters. Read her column every Tuesday in the Daily Express