Carotenoids are colorful pigments found in fruits and vegetables. They give carrots and sweet potatoes their orange color, tomatoes their red color, and leafy greens their rich green. Your body can turn some carotenoids (like beta-carotene) into vitamin A, which supports vision, immune health, and skin.

You might know beta-carotene, but there are many others worth eating daily:

  • Lycopene (tomatoes)
    • Lutein & zeaxanthin (leafy greens)
    • Alpha-carotene (carrots)
    • Astaxanthin (salmon)
    • Beta-cryptoxanthin (citrus)

Carotenoids and breathing health

A 2012 clinical trial looked at how carotenoid-rich foods affect people with asthma. For two weeks, 137 adults were split into two groups:

High-antioxidant diet:
5 servings of veggies + 2 servings of fruit daily
Low-antioxidant diet:
less than 2 vegetables + 1 fruit per day

The low-antioxidant group also got either a lycopene supplement or a placebo to see if pills could make up the difference.

What happened?

Only the whole-food group benefited:

  • Better lung function (measured by breathing tests)
  • Lower inflammation markers

Meanwhile:

The supplement didn’t improve breathing
Low-antioxidant diets increased inflammation

Bottom line

Carotenoid-rich foods seem to help calm inflammation and support healthy breathing —
but supplements alone didn’t deliver the same benefit.

The colors on your plate are not just pretty — they help you breathe and feel better.