With its sweet flavor and bright color, the carrots they are among the most loved vegetables in the kitchen. These roots add a pop of color to dishes and also offer health benefits.
There carrot it is a vegetable originating from the Mediterranean basin and is a very fleshy and crunchy vegetable that is particularly rich on a nutritional level: le carrots contain vitamins such as provitamin A and vitamins C, B1, B2, PP, D, E and sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sugars, many soluble fibers while it contains approximately 95% water.
The richness of nutrients makes the carrot an excellent product thanks to its antioxidant, antidiarrheal, purifying, digestive and anti-anemic properties. This makes carrots the best tonic to face autumn and the colder months and a panacea in the warmer months.
The story of the carrot
The origins of carrots they reside in the East where they have been cultivated for thousands of years but the ancient Greeks and Romans also used them as medicinal plants.
The name “carrot” comes from Greek karotòn while the botanical one is daucus carrot. The yellow-orange color is due to a mutation.
The plant of carrot It is perennial and belongs to the family of Umbelliferae because they develop white flowers with five petals gathered in an umbel. The edible part is that of the root and the length varies from 3 to 20 cm, some varieties even reach 90 cm and the diameter varies from 1 to 6 cm.
You must know that the carrot is also considered one weed plant and it is very widespread in meadows where it has a shorter and less developed root.
Carrots, nutritional values
There carrot has property excellent, starting from the richness of the minerals; indeed there are those who define it as a “mine” thanks to the abundant content of iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc.
Among all vegetables, it is the richest source of beta-carotene (transformed into vitamin A by the body) and provides carotenoids, pro-vitamin A, vitamin B and C. As regards the beta-carotene, 300 grams of carrots provide an amount equal to 5-10 times the recommended daily requirement. This pigment gives the orange color to the carrotfor this reason carotenes are extracted directly from the root to be used as natural dyes.
In the carrot root there are also sugar reserves, while the herbaceous part contains flavonoids, furanocoumarins and a low molecular weight oil with geraniol, limonene and sesquiterpenes including daucol.
Carrot: benefits for the body
The phytocomplex lets us understand how much consuming carrots regularly can offer the body. What are carrots good for??
- Improved vision: The vitamin A present is essential for maintaining healthy vision and can help prevent problems such as age-related macular degeneration.
- Skin health: Carotenoids can help improve skin health by protecting against damage caused by UV rays and promoting glowing, radiant skin.
- Enhanced immune system: Thanks to the richness of antioxidants, among the benefits of carrots there is also the strengthening of the immune system, protecting the body from infections and diseases.
- I support cardiovascular health: Antioxidants and fiber help reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels and improve heart health.
- Weight Management: Carrots are a low-calorie, high-fiber food, making them a great snack for anyone trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
- Protection at the intestinal level: The richness of vitamin A improves the functionality and structure of the intestinal mucosa, helping to reduce irritable bowel disorders and at the same time protecting the walls of the stomach and intestines from external aggressions.
Do carrots make you fat?
The sweetish taste of carrots raises more than a few doubts in those who are on a diet and must maintain their figure. But Carrots make you fat?
They prove to be precious allies for staying healthy, but not everyone is convinced of their beneficial effect on the figure. On the other hand, one also wonders whether i tomatoes or the courgettes they make you fat.
The first thing to consider to understand the benefits of carrots and theirs contraindications is the calorie intake: 100 grams of carrots raw equals 40 calories.
The calories from the carrots raw is quite low, but not enough if you consider other foods such as cucumber or fennel.
The fact that there are foods that can return fewer calories than carrots does not mean that the nutritional profile of carrots can be neglected carrots and their effects benefits.
In any case, however, thinking about the calories in carrots leaves us thinking that they are not particularly high-calorie foods. Well, the Carrots do not make you fat. The opinion does not change even if we look at the amount of carbohydrates contained in carrots: 7 g per 100 grams.
Trying to destabilize the issue is mostly the presence of complex sugars, certainly more appreciated from a dietary point of view but theoretically destined to increase the glycemic index of carrots. Fortunately, the presence of fiber helps metabolize the amount of sugar present and avoid any glycemic spikes.
In light of what has been said so far, therefore, they make carrots fattening? No, they do not make you fat if they are consumed in a moderate and conscious way.
The primordial black carrot
There are several varieties of carrotsincluding a primordial one: la black carrot. Due to its color it is used mainly on a decorative level, because from a nutritional point of view it is similar to the orange carrot.
There black carrot it is a domestic variety (there is wild carrot or spontaneous and the domestic or cultivated carrot), initially spread to the Asian continent and thanks to marketing reasons it regained its importance. They are not produced in our country because black carrots require particular climatic conditions.
The quantities of anthocyanidins contained in the purple carrots and this develops antibacterial and antifungal properties; the oil extracted from the seeds of the plant strengthens the hair and fights itching.
There are no limits to the consumption of black carrots nor any contraindications, especially in the case of low-calorie diets. They are indicated for people at high metabolic risk and therefore with cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes problems. The combined action of anthocyanidins and beta-carotene in fact has beneficial effects on oxidative stress.
The black carrots they are a very ancient product and this is demonstrated by the manuscript “Arte de Cocina by Francisco Martinez Montino who in 1623 proposed a first recipe for salad black carrots.
They match with all the ingredients and they can be consumed both cooked and raw, it is better to use condiments of vegetable origin such as extra virgin olive oil. Perfect pairing with fresh and mature cheeses and as a side dish for meat and fish dishes. As for aromatic herbs, black carrots, like their orange “cousins”, prefer parsley and chilli pepper, turmeric, ginger and cumin. The extract and centrifuge based on black carrots are excellent even if there are traditional drinks such as Kanji and the Salgam.
Parsnip (white carrot)
There parsnip it is also known as white carrot and from a botanical point of view it is related to the carrot. It is composed of a long tuberous root, the peel and pulp are cream colored and it is left in the ground even if it has reached maturity to make the pulp sweeter due to the winter frosts.
Parsnip originates from the Eurasian continent where it has always been used as a vegetable and generally consumed cooked. It requires deep, loose soil and unfortunately it is exposed to parasite and virus infestation. From a nutritional point of view it can be compared to the potato, despite being a low-calorie food. Most of the vitamins and minerals are found near the peel which is why they must not be eliminated, not even during cooking.
Consuming parsnips brings several benefits for your body anti-carcinogenic characteristics, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal. The high fiber content also prevents constipation and reduces the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood. Thanks to the presence of potassium it is suitable for the diet of athletes and those suffering from hypertension.
There Parsnip root is edible, but be careful with the shoots and leaves because they contain a potentially toxic substance. Cases of skin rash have occurred in several gardeners who have handled it. In Roman times it was considered the parsnip an aphrodisiac, but today it is used in cooking like carata, even if it has a sweeter taste. Excellent for stews and soups, finely sliced and fried parsnips become like chips.
