11 Super Health Benefits of Gajar, Carrots + Healthy Recipes + Nutritional Information

Carrot is one veggie that’s always on our vegetable shopping list, because it adds a beautiful splash of orange to any dish it is added to, as well as a pleasant mildly-sweet taste. Kids and adults love carrots, which makes life easier too. Plus, carrot always comes with a ‘healthy’ tag attached.

From cleaning your teeth, to keeping your eyes sharp and skin glowing, carrots have many popular health benefits – and a dozen unknown ones too! Let’s take you through the nutritional value and health benefits of this tasty veggie…

1. Keeps your Eyes healthy :
Carrots have the nutrient Beta Carotene which is a form of Vitamin A, helps prevent deterioration of the eye as one gets older and prevents night blindness. Sadly in India, poor rural families who don't get enough Vegetables like carrots have high incidence of blindness. This is easily preventable if carrot is regularly included in the diet.

A study conducted on beta-carotene showed that it reversed retinal dystrophy ⁽¹⁾. Your diet can include recipes with beta-carotene rich ingredients like Carrot, pumpkin, capsicum, spinach, orange, mango and papaya. Here is a super healthy antioxidant rich Veg Salad recipe to keep your eyes healthy.

2. Protects against sunburn :
There is evidence that beta-carotene present in carrots protect the skin against sunburn (solar erythema) by increasing the basal defense against UV light-mediated damage ⁽²⁾.

3. Helps to relieve constipation :
The insoluble fibre present in carrots reduces risk of constipation and promote regular and healthy bowel movements ⁽³⁾.

Have these super fibre rich salads like Carrot Lettuce and Date Salad and Carrot Cucumber and Rajma Salad in Mint Dressing to get rid of constipation

4. Lowers Cholesterol :
Since Carrots are a good source of Fibre, they tend to lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body. Carrot consumption reduces cholesterol absorption and bile acids excretion and increases antioxidant status, thus has a cardioprotective role (4). The effect of consuming raw carrot on serum lipids in a study where 200g of raw carrots were eaten for breakfast everyday for 3 weeks and serum cholesterol levels decreased by 11% and an increase in fat excretion was observed ⁽⁵⁾.
Healthy recipes for better heart health include Grilled Zucchini and Carrots and Carrot and Black Grape Juice

5. Lowers Blood Pressure :
Carrots have good Fibre which reduces plaque formation resulting in the blood flowing smoothly in your arteries. Result will be a steady flow of blood through your system. It was found in a study that drinking carrot juice decreases systolic blood pressure and may protect the cardiovascular system by increasing total antioxidant status and by decreasing lipid peroxidation ⁽⁶⁾.

6. Bone health :
Carrots are a rich source of vitamin K, a cup of chopped carrots provides 23.5% of the Recommended Daily Allowance. Bone metabolism is a continuous process where mature bone tissue is removed from the skeleton and replaced by new tissue.

When injuries occur to the bone like fractures or bruises, then Vitamin K sets in to heal the injury. Vitamin K prevents loss of bone density and preventing the onset of Osteoporosis ^{(7) (8)}.

7. Rich Antioxidant :
Carrots have Beta Carotene Vitamin A which is a powerful Antioxidant. It helps fight free radicals which cause damage to the cells of our body. The net result is lower body inflammation.

8. Blood clotting and wound healing :
Carrots are rich in Vitamin K which plays an important role in blood coagulation as it helps in clotting of wound and prevents bleeding.

Thus helps in healing process of the wound (9). Carrot Soup Gajar Soup is a good option to have if you recently bruised yourself

9. Reduces Cancer Risk :
Carrots are rich in health-promoting bioactive compounds like carotenoids and dietary fibre. Beta Carotene which is a carotenoid present in carrots is linked to reduce cancer. Carrots contain anticancer agents and have been suggested as a potential treatment for leukemia ^{(10) (11)}. Consumption of carrots has shown a significant decrease in prostate cancer risk ^{(12) (13)}. Studies suggest that diets rich in carotenoids may decrease the risk of certain cancers like colon cancer ⁽¹⁴⁾, stomach cancer ⁽¹⁵⁾ and breast cancer ⁽¹⁶⁾.

10. Builds immunity :
About 1 cup of Carrots provide 11.5% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C. The Vitamin C enables your body to process WBC (white blood cells) provided you have the correct amount each day.

This will boost your immunity. Carotenoids have been linked with the enhancement of immune system ⁽¹⁷⁾. For boosting your immunity have juices like Carrot Tomato and Beetroot Juice and Carrot Spinach and Parsley Juice

11. Good for Diabetics :
Since it has a low glycemic load, Carrots will not raise your blood sugar rapidly due to the presence of fiber in it. Also the Carotene present in it helps to prevent degeneration of the eyes through Diabetes. Diabetics should eat carrots in moderation because the glycemic index is high which is 71.
Diabetics should eat delicious healthy recipes like Carrot Methi Subzi and Carrot Garlic Chutney for better glucose control.

Nutrition Information for Carrots, Gajar

Nutritional Information for 1 cup Chopped Carrots
One cup of Chopped Carrots is 154 grams.
RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance.

74 Calories
1.38 grams of Protein
16.32 grams of Carbs
0.30 grams of Fat

816.2 mg of Phosphorus = 136% of RDA (about 600 mg)

2910.6 mcg of Vitamin A = 60.6 % of RDA (about 4800 mcg)

6.77 grams of Fibre = 27.08% of RDA (about 25 grams)

28.25 mcg of Vitamin K = 23.5 % of RDA (about 120 mcg)

123.2 mg of Calcium (Ca) = 20.5% of RDA (about 600 mg)

23.1 mg of Folic Acid = 11.6% of RDA (about 200 mg)

4.62 mg Vitamin C = 11.5% of RDA (about 40 mg)

0.924 mg of Vitamin B3, Niacin = 7.7% of RDA (about 12 mg)

1.58 mg of Iron (Fe) = 7.5% of RDA (about 21 mg)

26.18 mg of Magnesium (Mg) = 7.4% of RDA (about 350 mg)

0.061 mg of Vitamin B1, Thiamine = 6.1% of RDA (about 1.2 to 1.5 mg)

0.55 mg of Zinc = 5.5% of RDA (about 10 to 12 mg)

166.32 mg of Potassium (K) = 3.5% of RDA (about 4,700 mg)

54.82 mg of Sodium (Na) = 2.8% of RDA (about 1902 mg)

0.030 mg of Vitamin B2, Riboflavin = 2.7 % of RDA (about 1.1 mg)

Ways to have Carrots in your Diet

Here's a peppy drink that will make you feel refreshed after an exhausting day at work, try Carrot Coriander Juice and tickle your taste buds. Carrot Tomato and Egg Smoothie is a great Vitamin A and C rich beverage to get the proteins.

Kids are picky eaters and always run away from eating vegetables, Carrot Paratha is a great recipe for kids as the carrots are bound with flour and kids cannot remove them. Another delicious recipe for kids is Carrot and Cabbage High Fibre Chutney Open Toast, kids can't say no for this one.

Pair up your boring paratha's with Carrot and Beetroot Raita, looks good as it's got a nice pink colour.

Try our other recipes using carrot from our website and app.

Happy Cooking!