Carrots Nutrition, Benefits & Side Effects

Carrot is a root vegetable with numerous vitamins and minerals like carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamin A, and several other nutrients. Nowadays, the carrot is considered a superfood because of the multiple benefits it offers. Besides the age-old sayings that carrots are good for eyesight and good hair, carrots also act as an antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and autoimmune enhancer. Among the top 39 fruits and vegetables, carrots are ranked in the top 10 when it comes to nutritional value. Dietary fibers present in carrots have traces of molybdenum that are not found in many vegetables. Molybdenum present in carrots helps in the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates that help in the well-functioning of the body. Carrots are also good sources of magnesium and manganese. Carrots are also healthy sources of antioxidants and vitamin A, thus providing numerous benefits to skin and hair. In this article, we will discover the significant benefits of carrots for healthy skin and hair. [1] The carrot is frequently claimed to be the ideal health food.

It’s crunchy, yummy, and extremely nutritious. Carrots are a good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants. They also have lots of health benefits. They are weight-loss-friendly food and are linked to lower cholesterol levels and improved eye health. What is more, their carotene antioxidants are linked to a reduced risk of cancer. Carrots are found in several colors, including yellow, orange, white, crimson, and purple. Orange carrots obtain their vivid color from beta carotene, an antioxidant that your body converts into vitamin A.

Carrots are primarily composed of water and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates consist of sugars and starch, such as sucrose and glucose. Carrots contain hardly any fat and protein. They’re also a relatively good source of fiber, with a single medium-sized carrot (61 g ) providing 2 g. Raw carrots rank low on the glycemic index (GI), a measure of how fast foods increase blood sugar after a meal. Their GI ranges from 16-60, with the lowest for raw carrots, a little higher for cooked ones, and the highest for puréed carrots. Eating low-glycemic foods is related to numerous health benefits and considered especially beneficial for those who have diabetes.

Fiber: Pectin is the most critical type of soluble fiber in carrots. Soluble fibers can lower glucose levels by slowing down your digestion of starch and sugar. They are also able to feed the friendly bacteria in your gut, which might lead to improved health and lower risk of disease. Certain soluble fibers may inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract, lowering blood glucose. The primary insoluble fibers in carrots are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Insoluble fibers may reduce your chance of constipation and promote regular bowel movements.

Carrots are possibly best known for their abundant supply of this antioxidant nutrient named for them: beta-carotene. Nevertheless, these delicious root vegetables are the origin of beta-carotene and a considerable array of additional health-supporting nutrients.

– Antioxidant benefits: Carrots contain valuable amounts of antioxidant nutrients. Included in this class of nutrients are conventional antioxidants such as vitamin C, in addition to phytonutrient antioxidants such as beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is by far the most abundant antioxidant nutrient in carrots, accounting for over 95 percent of carotenoids in several carrot varieties. Other carotenoids typically present in carrots comprise alpha-carotene and lutein. 

For anthocyanin benefits, you will want to select purple and red kinds of carrots. In one research, anthocyanin content is best in what is often known as “black carrots.” 

– Cardiovascular benefits: In large scale studies of food and health, carrots are often included among yellow/orange veggies and examined for their health effect. While these studies haven’t focused solely on carrots per se, they’ve provided us with evidence about carrots as well as their cardiovascular benefits. In a single large-scale study by the Netherlands, participants were followed for ten years. Their meal programs were analyzed for vegetable and fruit intake in four color categories: green, orange/yellow, red/purple, and white. One of these four-color categories was orange/yellow foods, which were determined to be the most protective against cardiovascular disease (CVD).

– Benefits of carrots for skin: While everyone knows that carrots are great for vision improvement as they are rich in vitamin A, not many people know that it is good for the skin. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant present in carrots that scavenges oxidative free radicals and decreases skin’s sensitivity to sunlight. Most skincare products thus make use of carrot as the main ingredient for the formulation of products like moisturizer, sunscreen, and lip balms. If you use the carrot as a dietary supplement, it will automatically improve the levels of beta-carotene in your body, thus preventing the harmful dangers of UV rays from sunlight. A review by PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and EBM Cochrane library found that beta-carotene derived from carrots is effective against preventing sunburns. The same study found that consuming a mixture of carotenoids improved skin density as well as the thickness of the skin. In addition to this, carotenoids also help in reducing skin roughness and scaling. 

Thus, if you want your skin to look youthful, shiny, and free from all kinds of roughness, it’s important to consume carrots.

How to use carrots for better skin

– Try to include carrots as a part of your diet

– Drink at least a glass of carrot juice daily

– Try to add carrot as a part of your diet by eating salad

– You can also purchase different masks and serums that have carrot as the main ingredient.[2,3]

– Benefits of Carrots for hair: Carrots are not only loved by bunnies for their amazing taste and benefits; even humans get incredible benefits from eating carrots. A single piece of carrot can deliver twice as much vitamin A as a capsule of vitamin A will provide. [1]

Carrots are also rich in dietary fibers and complex carbohydrates. Thus, they promote better blood glucose stability, which improves the digestion process in the body. Most people tend to have thinning hair problems as they have poor digestion. The consumption of carrots helps you get the dietary fiber needed for the digestive system’s poor functioning. Carrots are rich in VItamin A and other minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc, and copper. All these vitamins and minerals improve your body’s PH level, which is one of the most significant factors for proper hair growth. Carrots are also packed with antioxidants and inflammatory properties that provide good health to your hair follicles. 

Carrots also include vitamin B6, an essential vitamin needed for the processing of food, and proper extraction of nutrients from the food. Thus, eating carrots in combination with other food also helps to get added benefits as your body benefits from the nutritional absorption capacity of carrots. Thus, carrots can be added as a dietary supplement to those diets that are already high in nutritional value. For better health of your hair, try to grab the benefits of carrots. [4]

How to use carrots for good hair: For healthy hair growth, you can use carrots in any form you like

● You can use it as part of your daily food intake, in the form of salad, juice, or you can keep it in a fermented form to eat as pickles. All you need is to consume carrots so that you can have the best proportion of vitamins and minerals required for proper hair growth. [5]

– Additional health benefits

We have seen health studies on carrots demonstrating benefits across a broad selection of areas, including cardiovascular health, eye health, liver health, and cancer protection. These studies give us confidence in the capability of carrots to give support for a vast array of body systems. 

The capability of carrots to supply cancer-protective advantages has been and is still an active field of research with this root vegetable. Of particular interest in this area are elements of carrot called polyacetylenes. Carrots have the capability to take their fatty acids and convert them into molecules called polyacetylenes. These polyacetylenes include molecules such as falcarinol and falcarindiol. Polyacetylenes supply carrots with protection against microorganisms, including bacteria and parasites, and they also have shown anti-cancer properties in laboratory and animal studies. 

Studies on carrots for eye health haven’t usually focused on carrots themselves, but on carotenoids as a set of nutrients and carotenoid levels in the blood. However, we’ve seen some small research in which participants with increased carrot intake had reduced glaucoma levels than participants with low carrot intake. Glaucoma-lowering benefits in one study were correlated with two weekly servings of carrots. We also have seen several animal studies on the risk of cataracts and the ingestion of carrot extracts. One of those studies identified a particular phytonutrient in carrots–geranyl acetate–as a chemical likely to participate in cataract protection.

– Lowered risk of cancer: Carotenoids rich diets may help protect against several kinds of cancer including colon, prostate, and stomach cancers. Women with elevated circulating levels of carotenoids may also have a reduced risk of breast cancer. Dated research indicated that carotenoids could protect against lung cancer, but newer studies haven’t identified a correlation.

– Lower cholesterol: High blood cholesterol is a famous risk factor for heart disease. Carrots intake has been linked to lower cholesterol levels.

– Diabetes: Carrots are well known for containing beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A. They also contain fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients. A medium carrot contains only 4 g of web (digestible) carbohydrates and is a low-glycemic food. Foods that are low in carbohydrates and low on the glycemic index tend to not have a substantial effect on glucose levels. Research suggests that carrots may be beneficial for diabetics.

– Vitamin A. In one animal study, researchers noticed a drop in insulin secretion and subsequent hyperglycemia, indicating that vitamin A might play a role in blood glucose control for people with diabetes.

– Vitamin B-6. B vitamins play an essential role in many distinct regions of metabolism. One study found a deficiency in vitamins B-1, and B-6 was common in people with type 2 diabetes. Moreover, the first development of diabetic nephropathy was more prevalent when vitamin B-6 levels were reduced. This study suggests that low vitamin B-6 levels may negatively impact diabetes outcomes.

– Fiber. Dietary fiber intake is a fundamental part of blood glucose management in diabetes. A current review of 16 meta-analyses shows strong evidence that dietary fiber intake can lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, for individuals with diabetes, fiber intake can help reduce both long-term and fasting blood sugar levels.

– Weight Reduction: As a low-calorie food, carrots may increase fullness and decrease calorie consumption in subsequent meals. Because of this, they might be a helpful addition to a successful weight loss diet.

– Eye health: People with low vitamin A levels are more likely to experience night blindness, which may decrease by eating carrots or other foods rich in vitamin A or carotenoids Carotenoids can also cut your risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Side effects

Carrots are full of fibers, vitamins, and minerals that are beneficial for your health. Too many carrots can bring in a lot of beta-carotene, the molecule responsible for carrots’ bright orange color, and a precursor of vitamin A. This may result in excess blood carotene may discolor the skin.

The condition carotenemia happens because carotene is a fat-soluble molecule. Excessive quantities often collect on the surface of the skin, leading to yellowish – or orange-pigmented skin, especially in the palms, soles, knees, and nasal region.

While many people will ask you to believe that eating lots of carrots will give you the best skin and hair within a few days, you are mistaken. Do not expect miracles as you need to have a proper mix of all nutrients to have healthy hair and skin. While carrots’ benefits can’t be denied, you need to have a balanced diet to get the best skin and hair health. Carrot is high in essential vitamins and minerals, but it is a low-calorie food. People who are thinking about good health should not think about only consuming low-calorie food like carrots. Instead, they should increase their calorie intake. Carrot is one of the best sources to get the best skin and hair, and it should be a part of everyone’s diet regime, but it is always advisable to include a carrot with other fruits and vegetables. Instead, use it as a dietary supplement, and you will have glowing skin and shiny hair.