Carrots are usually considered a superfood because they can be eaten in many ways. They are truly the most versatile food in context that someone can steam them, eat them raw or even cook them according to their needs. They have tremendous benefits that will help someone to live better life. These benefits will be useful not only for body’s inner physiology but also improve and shine the outward as well. Healthy benefits of carrots include improving eyes vision, a well source of antioxidants, supporting healthy heart, assisting health teeth and gums, treating wounds, improving brain health and cognitive functions, fighting cancer, supporting better digestion, maintaining youthful age, supporting healthy hair and skin and lowering the risk of developing diabetes.
10 health benefits
1. Improve vision and eye health
You can retain that 20/20 vision by adding it to your diet because they contain crucial nutrients that help with their maintenance and development. These include beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which are essential to eye-health. A lack of just one of these can cause concerning eye problems. Such an example includes macular degeneration and blindness due to a lack of beta-carotene while the remaining nutrients are required to prevent any loss of vision during old age.
2. Keep Low cholesterol levels
It is an excellent choice for supporting heart health and potentially lowering cholesterol levels. It contain soluble fiber, particularly pectin, which can bind with cholesterol in the digestive system and help reduce its absorption into the bloodstream. It is loaded with beta carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) and other antioxidants that may help prevent oxidative stress, a contributor to cardiovascular issues.
3. Minimize the risk of heart diseases
Ensure your heart stays healthy and you live longer by having an adequate intake of carrots. Research shows that women who eat more orange-colored vegetables lower their risks of developing heart diseases. Other studies show that carrot juice can have a neutralizing effect on the damage caused by oxidation, so it helps the body defend itself against the dangers of cardiovascular disorders. Carrots also have a remarkable cholesterol reducing capacity, which is an added benefit. The reason behind lowered cholesterol is that carrots influence and increase bile production, which assimilates fat deposits in our body.
4. Maintenance of healthy digestion
It contains great amounts of fiber that is crucial to the digestion process because the body’s system simply cannot expel waste materials without it. A lack of fiber in the diet can lead to constipation and even hemorrhoids, which can be severely painful, so an intake of carrots is necessary to prevent it from happening. The fiber in carrots adds bulk to the body’s waste material and helps it pass through the system with ease.
5. Provide assistance in weight loss
6. Maintain oral health
7. Assist in the management of diabetes
Scientists at many renowned research facilities have found astonishing results regarding the effect of carrots on blood sugar levels and future risk of diabetes. Their findings showed that people who had higher chances of developing Type-2 diabetes can reduce their risk by regularly consuming foods that contain beta-carotene. This establishes carrots position as a diabetic-friendly and preventative food.
8. Reduce the risk of cancer
Research shows that an intake of foods that contain carotenoids can have an effect on lowering risks of cancer. The antioxidants in carrots are the real reason behind this finding because they are better at fighting against leukemia cells while also reducing your overall risk of developing cancer in the future. Studies have observed these effects on adult women who have a family history linked to breast cancer and found that drinking healthy amounts of carrot juice daily helped in protecting their tissues from developing any cancerous cells.
9. Ameliorate skin health
10. Helpful in boosting immunity
Complete growing guide of carrot
- Select a suitable location: Carrots need full sunlight, loose soil, and good drainage. Pick a spot in your garden that meets these requirements.
- Make the soil prepared: Carrots grow best in light, loamy soil free of rocks and clumps. Remove debris, break up large clumps, and amend the soil with compost or well-rotted manure to add nutrients.
- Plant the seeds: Sow the carrot seeds directly into the soil about 1/4 inch deep, spacing them at least 1 inch apart. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and gently water them.
- Water regularly: Keep the soil moist but not overly wet by watering the plants regularly. Water deeply and infrequently to encourage deep root growth.
- Thin the seedlings: Once they have grown to about 2 inches tall, thin them out to prevent overcrowding. Space the plants about 2 inches apart.
- Add fertilizer: After the seedlings have grown to about 4 inches tall, add a light application of fertilizer to help promote growth.
- Weed regularly: Remove any weeds that grow near the carrot plants to prevent competition for nutrients.
- Watch for pests and diseases: Watch for common ones such as carrot rust fly, nematodes, and fungal infections. Use organic methods such as crop rotation and companion planting to prevent and treat these issues.
- Harvest: Harvest the carrots when they have reached the desired size, usually around 60-75 days after planting. Gently loosen the soil around the base of the carrot and pull it out of the ground.
Top countries-carrot producing
| Rank | Country | Carrot Production (Millions of Tons) Source: FAOSTAT |
| 1 | China | 17.3 |
| 2 | Uzbekistan | 1.8 |
| 3 | Russia | 1.7 |
| 4 | United States | 1.4 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 0.9 |
Growing different colour carrots
How to use carrot?
Make Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
- Flour: 2-cups of all-purpose flour
- Sugar: 1-cup brown sugar
- Oil: 1-cup oil
- Baking soda: 2-teaspoon
- Salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract: 1/2-teaspoon, one and half teaspoon cinnamon and 1-teaspoon vanilla
- Pecans and Raisins: They are optional
- Eggs: 4 eggs
- Carrots: Three cups of freshly grated carrots
Roasted Carrots
Many vegetables can be roasted but roasting carrot is quite easy and delicious.
- Prep Carrots: Wash, peel and cut if they’re large. (Baby Carrots or smaller carrots can stay whole).
- Season: Roast carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper
- Roast: Place carrots on a pan and roast until they get brown and tender. These carrots need about 20 minutes or so at 425°F. The high temperature is needed to roast the outside for the best flavor.
Brown Sugar Carrot
Making brown sugar carrot is a quite quick and easy recipe. Cut carrots into small pieces and put them in a pan with brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup), butter and oil with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Then just roast for 25 minutes in a hot oven (220C/425F) until the edges of carrots turn brown. A hot oven works best so we can get caramelised edges without the carrot getting too soft and wrinkled.
You can use both oil and butter here. The reason is that butter provides better flavour, but it burns at high temperatures. So, by combining with oil, you get the best taste.
Dry Carrot Curry
This is a simple dry carrot curry which is brought together by a spice powder. Instead of the usual chilli to increase the heat, this carrot recipe uses mustard. It is a unique change but it still achieves the same thing. The perfect contrast is sweetness and the hint of sweetness from the peas brings the whole dish together. It is typically served alongside plain rice, especially in South India.
Ingredients
- 2 cups carrots, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup peas
- 1 Green chilli, chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- Salt, to taste
Method:
- Dry roast the channa dal and urad dal until golden. Add the coconut, sesame seeds, cumin, garlic and the chilli. When the coconut becomes fragrant, transfer to a plate to cool.
- In the same pan, heat some oil and the mustard, cumin and dals. When the dal becomes golden, add the ginger and curry leaves. Add the asafoetida and cook for a minute.
- Reduce the flame and add the carrots, peas, turmeric and salt.
- Stir then cover and cook until the carrots are just cooked. Pour in a splash of water if needed.
- As the carrots cook, grind the roasted ingredients until they become a fine powder.
- Sprinkle the spice powder into the pan and mix well. Season and cook for two minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.
Buttery Cooked Carrots
Boiled carrots are simmered in butter and brown sugar for a delicious side dish. There are never any leftovers. This will require only 15-mints to make buttery cooked carrots.
Ingredients:
- 1-pound small carrots cut into pieces
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
Step1:
Put all ingredients together
Step2:
Boil carrots in a pot for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step3:
Strain carrots in a bowel
Step4:
Pour some brown sugar and butter in a pan until both sugar and butter melt.
Step5:
Put carrots to the pot and toss to coat. Cover it for a few minutes to allow flavors to mingle.
Pros and cons of carrot
- Do not consume carrots in large quantities as it can cause an excessive accumulation of beta carotene in the body, which can cause skin discoloration.
- Avoid consuming carrots as a juice as it may cause blood sugar levels to rise, especially if you have uncontrolled diabetes.
- Some people may have allergies to carrots and must be careful in their consumption.
FAQs
Is it helpful to eat carrot every day?
Eating up to one medium carrot each day as part of a healthy diet is perfectly alright.
