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Carrots contain many nutrients, including beta-carotene and antioxidants, that may support your overall health as part of a nutrient-rich diet.

The carrot (Daucus carota) is a root vegetable often claimed to be the perfect health food. It is crunchy, tasty, and highly nutritious.

Carrots are a particularly good source of beta-carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants. Plus, they’re low in calories.

They also have several health benefits. They have been linked to lower cholesterol levels and improved eye health. What’s more, their carotene antioxidants have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer.

Carrots are found in many colors, including yellow, white, orange, red, and purple. Orange carrots get their bright color from beta carotene, an antioxidant that your body converts into vitamin A.

This article tells you everything you need to know about carrots.

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Nutrition facts

A carrot’s water content ranges from 86% to 95%, and the edible portion consists of around 10% carbs.

Carrots contain very little fat and protein.

The nutrition facts for two small-to-medium raw carrots, or 100 grams (g), are:

• Calories: 41
• Water: 89%
• Protein: 0.8 g
• Carbs: 9.0 g
• Fiber: 2.7 g
• Fat: 0.1 g

Carbs

Carrots are mainly composed of water and carbs.

The carbs consist of starch and sugars, such as sucrose and glucose. They are also a relatively good source of fiber, with one medium-sized carrot (61 g) providing 1.9 g.

Carrots often rank low on the glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly foods raise blood sugar after a meal. Their GI ranges from 30 to 85, while the glycemic load ranges from 2.0 to 4.25. It’s the lowest for raw carrots, and higher for cooked ones.

Eating low glycemic foods is linked to numerous health benefits and is considered particularly beneficial for people with diabetes.

Fiber

Pectin is the main form of soluble fiber in carrots.

Soluble fibers can lower blood sugar levels by slowing down your digestion of sugar and starch.

They can also feed the friendly bacteria in your gut, which may lead to improved health and decreased risk of disease.

What’s more, certain soluble fibers can impair the absorption of cholesterol from your digestive tract, lowering blood cholesterol.

The main insoluble fibers in carrots are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Insoluble fibers may reduce your risk of constipation and promote regular bowel movements.

Vitamins and minerals

Carrots are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, especially biotin, potassium, and vitamins A (from beta carotene), K1 (phylloquinone), and B6.

• Vitamin A: Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A. This nutrient promotes good vision and is important for growth, development, and immune function.
• Biotin: A B vitamin formerly known as vitamin H, biotin plays an important role in fat and protein metabolism.
• Vitamin K1: Also known as phylloquinone, vitamin K1 is important for blood coagulation and can promote bone health.
• Potassium: An essential mineral, potassium is important for blood pressure management.
• Vitamin B6: A group of related vitamins, B6 is involved in the conversion of food into energy.

Other plant compounds

Carrots offer many plant compounds, including carotenoids.

These are substances with powerful antioxidant activity that have been linked to improved immune function and reduced risk of many illnesses, including heart disease, various degenerative ailments, and certain types of cancer.

Beta carotene, the main carotene in carrots, can be converted into vitamin A in your body. However, this conversion process may vary by individual. Eating fat with carrots can help you absorb more of the beta carotene.

The main plant compounds in carrots are:

• Beta carotene: Orange carrots are very high in beta carotene. The absorption is better if the carrots are cooked.
• Alpha-carotene: This is an antioxidant that, like beta-carotene, is partly converted into vitamin A in your body.
• Lutein: One of the most common antioxidants in carrots, lutein is predominantly found in yellow and orange carrots and is important for eye health.
• Lycopene: This is a bright red antioxidant found in many red fruits and vegetables, including red and purple carrots. Lycopene may decrease your risk of cancer and heart disease. Cooking carrots helps release lycopene and improves absorption.
• Polyacetylenes: Recent research has identified bioactive compounds in carrots that may help protect against leukemia and other cancers.
• Anthocyanins: These are powerful antioxidants found in dark-colored carrots.

Health benefits of carrots

Much of the research on carrots has focused on carotenoids.

Reduced risk of cancer

Diets rich in carotenoids may help protect against several types of cancer. This includes prostate, colon, and stomach cancers.

Females with high circulating levels of carotenoids may also have a reduced risk of breast cancer.

Carotenoids have been found to protect against lung cancer, but further research is needed to confirm a correlation.

Lower blood cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is a well-known risk factor for heart disease.

Consuming carrots has been linked to lower cholesterol levels.

Weight loss

As a low calorie food, carrots can increase fullness and decrease calorie intake in subsequent meals.

For this reason, they may be a useful addition to an effective weight loss diet.

Eye health

Individuals with low vitamin A levels are more likely to experience night blindness, a condition that may diminish by eating carrots or other foods rich in vitamin A or carotenoids.

Carotenoids may also cut your risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Organic vs. conventionally grown carrots

Organic farming uses natural methods for growing crops, though it should be noted that organic crops may be treated with natural pesticides made from plants.

A 2012 study comparing organic and conventionally grown carrots did not find any difference in the amount of carotenoids or antioxidant content and quality.

However, conventionally grown carrots contain pesticide residues. The long-term health effects of low-grade pesticide intake are unclear, but some scientists have voiced concerns. Washing and peeling carrots before you eat them raw or cook them will remove any residues effectively.

Baby carrots

Baby carrots are an increasingly popular snack food.

Two kinds of carrots are called baby carrots, which can be misleading:

• whole carrots harvested while still small
• baby-cut carrots, which are pieces from larger carrots that have been machine-cut into the preferred size, then peeled, polished, and sometimes washed in small amounts of chlorine before packing

There’s very little difference in nutrients between regular and baby carrots, and they should have the same health effects.

Individual concerns

Carrots are generally considered safe to eat but may have adverse effects in some people.

Additionally, eating too much carotene can cause your skin to become a little yellow or orange, but this is harmless.

Allergy

According to a 2001 study, carrots can cause pollen-related allergic reactions in up to 25% of individuals with a food allergy.

Carrot allergy is an example of cross-reactivity in which the proteins in certain fruits or vegetables cause an allergic reaction because of their similarity to the proteins found in certain types of pollen.

If you are sensitive to birch pollen or mugwort pollen, you might react to carrots.

This can cause your mouth to tingle or itch. In some people, it may trigger swelling of the throat or a severe allergic shock, known as anaphylaxis.

Contamination

Carrots grown in contaminated soil or exposed to contaminated water may harbor larger amounts of heavy metals, which can affect their safety and quality.

Yet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regularly surveys foods sold in the United States and tests them for potential contaminants, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

The bottom line

Carrots are a great snack — crunchy, full of nutrients, low in calories, and sweet.

They’re associated with heart and eye health, improved digestion, and even weight loss.

This root vegetable comes in several colors, sizes, and shapes, all of which are great additions to a healthy diet.