Are carrots good for you?
One moment we are told that carrots are healthy for us, and the next moment we are told that carrots are bad for you. They both can’t be true, so which is it?
Why some ditch the Carrot
When the low carb diets became more popular, carrots were an avoided vegetable because of their high glycemic index. The important thing to know is the glycemic load – not the glycemic index – is only 4 grams of carbohydrates per serving. This means that the glycemic load is only a 3 out of 40, which means you would have to eat a lot of carrots to get any significant rise in blood sugar. This also means that “carrots are full of sugar” is an inaccurate statement. Some diabetics will still have their doctor advise them against eating carrots, which is up to you if you decide to listen to your doctor in that case. For everyone else, you should be just fine eating carrots, and enjoying their many health benefits.
Carrot’s Health Benefits
Carrots are full of carotenoids, which have been associated with a decrease of up to 50% in bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx, and esophageal cancer. In addition to this, carotenoids have also shown a 20% decrease in post-menopausal breast cancer.
Recent studies have shown that as little as one carrot a day could possibly cut the rate of lung cancer in half.
Carrots contain alpha-carotene, which is a type of carotenoid, where recent studies have shown benefits that may lead to inhibiting tumor growth.
Carrots are a great source of lutein and zeaxanthin, both are types of carotenoids, and when these two nutrients work together, they have shown that they protect the eyes and help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.
The alpha-carotene and beta-carotene in carrots convert in the body into Vitamin A, which raises the effectiveness of the light-sensitive area of the retina, which can help with night blindness.
Eating Carrots
You can enjoy the health benefits of carrots , either raw or cooked. If you want to get the most of the carotenoids in the carrots, eat them with a little bit of healthy fat, which helps you absorb the nutrients better since carrots are a fat-soluble vegetable.
I prefer not to have carrots juiced. When juicing, you use a lot of carrots and end up removing the natural fiber in the process, which makes for an increase in sugar concentration in the juice.
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listening to your Medical Doctor when it comes to health and nutrition usually ends in bad advice. I can’t imagine any reason to avoid eating carrots. Off course, glycemic load is more important than index when it comes to stimulation of insulin release, but if you can’t eat a carrot– you’re dying soon no matter what you do. Otherwise, the article was good encouragement. The “health” of vegtables and fruit is in the colors– eat a variety of colors.
I don’t always agree with Medical Doctors, but legally I can’t tell people to go against their doctor’s advice. Which…is why I am here! I am here to let people know what’s REALLY going on, and here to educate people that there is MORE than what their medical doc is telling them.
I agree with you Mory, carrots are healthy. End of story! : ) Also, I am a big believer of “eating the rainbow”, which is eating lots of fruits and veggies of all colors, not just one or two!
Thanks for this informative piece, Twinkie. I especially like the tips on eating carrots. It’s so hard for consumers to keep track of what is/isn’t healthy (the list seems to change every day! lol), but the day carrots become unhealthy is the day I give up eating altogether. LOL
I’m with you on that Maria… Carrots are healthy. It’s a vegetable. Some veggies are better than others when it comes to weight loss, but that doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from carrots and all of their wonderful nutrients! : )