Peeling a carrot does not remove the majority of vitamins, according to the Tufts University Nutrition Letter. The carrot skin contains concentrated vitamin C and niacin but just under the peel, the next layer, the phloem, also has these vitamins, along with vitamin A.
Do You Need to Peel Carrots? "There is no need to peel carrots before eating—many people enjoy eating them with the skin on," says Alan Hilowitz, former communications director at Bolthouse Farms. "However, since carrots are grown in the ground, washing/scrubbing is important if you do choose not to peel," he adds.
Your body has an easier time absorbing the carotenoids in carrots if you eat them cooked rather than raw. Cooking breaks down the vegetable's cell walls, making its nutrients more available. Of course, how you cook them matters—boiling vegetables can leach out nutrients, so it's better to steam, sauté, or roast.
There are some good culinary reasons to peel. "The peel does have a slightly different texture from the rest of the carrot, so it may stand out in a recipe, depending on the application," Hilowitz says. "Some varieties have skin that may be tougher, grittier, or more bitter than the rest of the carrot," he adds.
“Overall, while removing the peel reduces some phytonutrients and small amounts of the vitamins and minerals in carrots, there is plenty of nutritional value left behind. Remember, the peel is only a small portion of the total vegetable.
When it comes down to it, you don't ever really have to peel carrots. As long as you wash and scrub them well to remove dirt and any debris (this natural fruit and veggie wash is a good start!), unpeeled carrots are perfectly safe (and delicious) to eat.
Carrots provide more antioxidants when boiled or steamed than when eaten raw, according to a January 2008 report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In fact, researchers found that boiling carrots until tender increased the concentration of carotenoids by 14 percent.
As much as people love eating raw carrots with dip, you're better off cooking them for nutrients. “The cooking process releases more beta-carotene, which is an antioxidant that gets converted to vitamin A in your body, which is beneficial to your eyes and immune system,” Allidina says.
Here's how it's done: place the carrot tip side down on your cutting board and lift it up in a 45-degree angle. Peel the carrot starting in the middle and go back and forth up and down the carrot, rotating it as you go. When you get halfway around the carrot, flip the carrot over and do the other side.
When in doubt, microwave. Microwaving uses little to no water, and can heat the veggie quickly from within, preserving nutrients such as vitamin C that break down when heated. A 2003 study found significantly higher levels of phytonutrients in zucchini, carrots and beans cooked with minimal water.
Is it okay to eat carrots every day? Eating carrots in moderation is good for your health. Eating carrots in excess, however, can cause a condition called carotenemia. This refers to yellowish discoloration of the skin because of the deposition of a substance called beta-carotene that is present in carrots.
One medium carrot provides around 4% of a person's daily requirement of potassium. Eating vegetables high in fiber, such as carrots, may also lower a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease and reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol.
Some people are hypersensitive to carrots and some common side effects among such people are skin rashes, diarrhea, anaphylactic reactions, hives, and swelling. Such allergies are caused due to the allergen present in carrot pollen.
Soaking fresh fruits and vegetables in water can help revive them and make them more palatable, or, if done before storage, help them last longer in your fridge.
A matter of glycemic index
When you manage to cook the carrots, a pre-digestion process begins, in this process all their sugars are separated , making them much more accessible.
According to a Cleveland Clinic article, dermatologist Melissa Piliang says that regularly eating between 20 to 50 milligrams of beta-carotene per day for several weeks could be enough to turn you orange. This is equivalent to between three and ten carrots a day.
Thanks to the number of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants packed into each carrot, many experts have elevated this humble veggie to “superfood” status. Here are some fun carrot facts to chew on.
5. Carrots. You'll feel full quickly eating carrots and other crudites, but this veggie is another food that is a bit slow to digest, and your sleep might suffer because of it.
Carrots contain a number of beneficial nutrients, but some cooking methods -- such as lengthy boiling -- lead to nutrient loss. Steaming carrots prevents this nutrient loss, allowing you to enjoy the texture of cooked carrots without sacrificing the nutritional value of the vegetable.
-- Cooking tomatoes -- such as in spaghetti sauce -- makes the fruit heart-healthier and boosts its cancer-fighting ability. All this, despite a loss of vitamin C during the cooking process, say Cornell food scientists. The reason: cooking substantially raises the levels of beneficial compounds called phytochemicals.
The answer: It is true that carrots have natural sugar, but not much more than many other vegetables. And you certainly don't need to avoid these low-calorie, nutritious root vegetables. One half-cup of chopped raw carrot sticks has three grams of sugar and only 26 calories.
They're rich in beta-carotene, a compound your body changes into vitamin A, which helps keep your eyes healthy. And beta-carotene helps protect your eyes from the sun and lowers your chances of cataracts and other eye problems. Yellow carrots have lutein, which is also good for your eyes.
As per various health sites, eating too many carrots for a prolonged period can discolour your skin and give it an orange shade due to the beta carotene present in it. Ideally, you should not consume more than 1 or 2 carrots in a day.