750 



Can carrou be addictive? 1 197 



bunclicj » day, and is ii wn tpcmg he put hioisclfto 

 considerable expense. His craving for curois be- 

 came asurgcm at his previous craving for ciguenes. 

 Whenever ihc image of etrrou entered hii mind, or 

 whenever he happened to catcb tight of them, he 

 immediately imagined himself eating them and 

 started yearning for them. The coiuiunptioa of 

 carruit slopped his urge for sotneihiag, and again be 

 helped himself to carrota. If a (ufficieot amount of 

 carrots were available, he would crunch them iu 

 rapid succession — this perfectly supplanted the 

 cigsretics and, in the same way, it was Czed in bis 

 consciotisnets. He ate tiie carrots at home but also 

 could not resist eating them in public When he wco! 

 shopping, he felt compelled lo eat the carrou he had 

 already bought on his way borne on die train. 



The anti-smoking advice centre advised him 

 against such habitual carrot coniumpuoa. He imme- 

 diately started doing his level best to pvc up cirrols. 

 Although the habit was not a: strong as the 

 dependence on cigarettes, it took him a lotl{ time to 

 suppress it completely. He went on buying carrots 

 throughout the summer — he was, however, con- 

 scious of the necessity to be OQ his guard. 2t was oaly 

 in autumn when carrots became rare in the maritei 

 that he stopped eatiog diem. In spring 1989 be did 

 not feel ctjmpclled to indulge in eating caxrou any 

 more, though he continues to like them even now. 



After hit visits to the adrice centre be success- 

 fully slopped imotdc^ and abstained {rom it for 4 

 months. However, tie relapsed afief xoffle stress 

 situation at work. 



I)<5CU!;Kion 



The three cases of raw-cartot abuse dcscnbed here 

 arc remarkable fur giving rise to a psychic depen- 

 dence, identical with drug addiction as defined by 

 the WHO (1969). in all the three aflectcd peisoos 

 — two women and one man. The lack of carrots 

 nude them lapse into a state of heightened irritabil- 

 ity, nervoiunets. Tbe wiihdravrat syndrome is so 

 intense that the afSicted persons get bold of tod 

 consume carrots even iti socially quite unacceptable 

 situations. In view of the faa that both the patients 

 described in detail were alto smokers, it was possible 

 to discuss with them the intensity of (be depen- 

 dence. The patient A. L. stated that tbe psychic 



difficulties caused by a lack ofcirrots were far more 

 intensive than those called forth by i Uck of 

 cigircitei. Tbe quality of difficulties is the same as 

 in the case of smoking. The patient J. T. mentioned 

 the same difficulties is the above patient but 

 evaluated their intensity as somewhat lesser than in 

 smoking. This patient, however, had not been 

 consuming carrots fot such a long time as the patient 

 A. I.. The ascertainment that raw carrots have the 

 same effects as drags of the uicotine type sec me 

 thinking what substance ill carrots might be in- 

 vulved. The first to come into consideration was the 

 biologically active carotene. 



tor the time being, however, I cannot discount 

 ^hc possibility that carrots may contain another 

 active substance conducive to drug addiction. In this 

 area, experimentation seems necessary. This is why 

 the aim of this communication is to draw the 

 compeicnl specialist's attention to this odd quality 

 of carrots. A higher carrot intake resulted in a 

 metabolic disorder panicularly in the area of the 

 auto-immunity system, the neurovegetative system 

 and the centra] nervous system, at it tbe case in 

 neuroses. Tbe condition improved alter giving up 

 the constimptioa of carrots. Also tiie recurring 

 relapse in patient A. L. was interesting — it was 

 similar to Chat found with other dru$ types. 



Referencef 



I. Cmun, L. B. (1985) Obtcrvicloa on carateaeoiia. 



Annualt of fniemal Medicine, 48, pp. 229-237. 

 J. FisKMAN, ]. V. U Joserra, A. Y. (1981) Benign 



caraicaonu, AnhitKi ej CHs€<uti in Oiiidixsod, 56. 



p. 965. 



3. IIt)Ctl0S,J. O. & VoOTTN, R. I_(I9M)Theor«age 

 people, Jaimtal «/ iIlc Arvai^aa Medical /luociaiian, 

 197, pp. 730-731. 



4. King, C & Muxano, C. (19B0) Mytteriout dietary 

 hypercarotutesiii. Clinical Rtuarch, 28, p. 231, 



5. LjkSCAlil,A. D. (I98l)Caro<eoenua, Ctiakoi/'c^ut- 

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«. Patbl, H., DuHii. H. C, TuaiEK, B, A<a (1973) 

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 Medical Anodaiian Journal^ 108, pp. 848-85Z 



7. Shocmvcld, v.. Siiauai, M., Bck-Euiuck, N., 

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