If your mother told you to eat your carrots to help with your eyesight, she was right! Carrots have many benefits for the body. They are a great source of water, fiber, antioxidants, Beta Carotene, Vitamin K, and Potassium and can be a yummy part of a nutritious diet. Is there a limit to how often you should eat this power-packed vegetable?
Eating more than two servings of carrots each day is not advised because, while carrots contain lots of great nutrients, they not contain all the nutrients your body needs. Eating a variety of vegetables is the best way to meet your nutrition needs. Most people will need between 2-4 servings of vegetables a day, and I recommend making one of those an orange vegetable!
Read on for more about the health benefits of carrots, how often they should be eaten, what happens if you eat too many, the healthiest ways to eat carrots, and new ideas for including them in your diet.
Why Are Carrots Healthy?
Yes, carrots contain many nutrients that benefit your body! Sometimes people shy away from carrots because they have heard about their high sugar content, but compared to other foods, the carbohydrate (sugar) content is really not very high. Raw carrots also do not seem to spike blood sugar as much as other foods do.
Natural sugars like the ones in fruits and vegetables provide your body with energy. If you pair carrots with protein and fat, that will help stabilize the sugar in the carrots and give you more lasting energy. Including some fat with your carrots actually improves the absorption of vitamins too!
Aside from carbohydrates (the natural sugar in carrots), there are other nutrients in carrots that are good for your body.
Fiber
Unfortunately, most people don’t eat enough fiber each day. Fiber intake is associated with lower cholesterol levels, and improved heart health. Fiber also acts as a prebiotic, meaning it is food for the good bacteria in your gut.
Beta Carotene
You might be more familiar with “Vitamin A,” but Beta Carotene is actually the compound in carrots that turns into Vitamin A in your body. Vitamin A is essential for vision and eye health and also helps keep your immune system strong and helps your body grow and develop.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is an important nutrient involved in blood clotting. If you are thinking you don’t want your blood to clot, you might think twice next time you have a cut and it won’t stop bleeding!
Potassium
Potassium helps regulate your blood pressure and keep it in an appropriate range. This is also important for your heart health!
Antioxidants
Antioxidants have been linked to lower cancer risk, and a lower risk of disease. They help to neutralize harmful compounds in your body.
Water
Did you know that carrots are made up of somewhere between 86-95% water? Much of your body’s hydration needs are met through the foods that you eat. Fruits and vegetables are often some of the foods highest in water content.
Health Benefits of Carrots
Overall, eating carrots can improve your vision, and may reduce your risk of heart disease, and cancer. Eating carrots has also been found to be associated with maintaining a healthy weight.
Although many similar benefits can be seen from including any vegetables in your diet, carrots are particularly high in certain nutrients that your body needs. Combine them with other vegetables for the best health outcomes!
What Happens if You Eat Too Many Carrots?
It is actually pretty crazy what happens when you eat a large amount of carrots- your skin can actually start to look a little bit orange! Don’t worry though, it really isn’t harmful, but it might be a sign that you are overdoing it and it is probably a good idea to replace some of those carrots with other nutrient-rich vegetables.
The harm of eating too much of any one food is that you miss out on important nutrients from other foods. Each time you eat, look to combine food groups and get a mix of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Practice getting in tune with your body so that you can listen to and respond to what it needs!
How Many Carrots Can You Eat in a Day?
Most people need between 2-5 servings of vegetables every day, and I recommend trying to include a serving of an orange or red vegetable every day.
Since there are multiple ways to eat carrots, here are a few examples of what a serving would look like:
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 1 cup of baby carrots
- 1 cup cooked, fresh, or frozen carrots (sliced or chopped)
Should You Eat Carrots Every Day?
You should enjoy your food, so if carrots are a food that you like, go for it! If you aren’t really a big fan of carrots, you could try cooking them in a different way- but you still don’t have to eat them every day! Try finding another orange vegetable that you do like.
Even if you do choose to eat carrots every day, it shouldn’t be the only vegetable you eat. Other vegetables contain important nutrients as well, so try and get as much variety as you can!
New Ways to Eat Carrots
Eating plain raw carrots might get boring for some people, but there are lots of other ways to include this nutrient dense food in your diet. Even people that don’t particularly like carrots may end up enjoying them if they are prepared in a different way, changing up the texture or flavor.
Try out some of these ideas for new ways to prepare, cook, and eat carrots!
- Add ranch seasoning mix to plain greek yogurt and make a dip!
- Try dipping carrots in hummus. There are so many different varieties of hummus, so see what combination tastes the best to you.
- Add diced carrots to a vegetable soup, potato soup, chili, gnocchi soup, or chicken noodle soup.
- Add sliced or grated carrots to risotto or rice dishes and casseroles.
- Top salads or burrito bowls with sliced or diced carrots.
- Season carrot strips and roast them in the oven.
- Add sliced or grated carrots to coleslaw.
- Carrots make a great addition to a stir-fry. You can even include multiple vegetables in stir-fry dishes for extra nutritional benefits.
- Steam carrots with a little bit of cinnamon for a sweet side dish.
- Blend carrots into a smoothie.
- Add diced carrots to pasta sauce, or blend them into a sauce.
What is the Healthiest Way to Eat Carrots?
The bottom line is… eating vegetables is better than not eating vegetables, so even if some nutrients are lost with different cooking methods, it might still be worth it to make your food enjoyable.
Cooking does tend to decrease some of the nutrients in vegetables, but if you hate raw carrots, you don’t have to force yourself to eat them. Steaming is one cooking method that does a really good job of retaining the nutrients in carrots. Oftentimes, the longer vegetables are cooked for, the less nutrients are retained, so try and minimize cooking times where possible!
Adding fat and seasoning to vegetables is sometimes frowned upon, but if used in moderation and limited in other areas of your diet, it can be a great way to make vegetables taste better! Making vegetables, like carrots, taste good makes eating healthy MUCH more enjoyable and satisfying.
Summary
Carrots not only add some color to meals and snacks, but they are also a great source of fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin K, Beta Carotene, and Potassium. They are one of many nutritious vegetables that can be part of a healthy diet on a daily basis.
Eating carrots have been linked to lower disease risk and better vision, but remember that other foods have important nutrients to contribute as well! Find variety in your vegetables and in all the foods you choose to eat and choose foods that you enjoy and that nourish your body!
Resources
Bjarnadottir A. Carrots 101: Nutrition facts and health benefits. Healthline.com. Published May 3, 2019.
Beck L. Carrots. Lesliebeck.com.
Cleveland Clinic. Reasons why carrots (of all colors) are healthy for you. Health.clevelandclinic.org. Published March 23, 2021.
Fernando I. What are the health benefits of carrots? Medicalnewstoday.com. Updated February 28, 2022.
US Department of Agriculture. Vegetables. Myplate.gov.
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