Eat plenty of carrots - they are healthy as well as delicious

How many times have you had gajar ka halwa this season?

If you haven’t, this post is going to make you drool and send you hot foot to the subzi mandi to buy carrots, a packed-with-nutrition yet highly underrated root vegetable.

There’s much to love about carrots — they have a crunchy texture and sweet taste, are easily available and are inexpensive too. Still, they aren’t really eaten as often as they should be, when in season.

They are low in calories (150gm; that is two large carrots deliver just 60 calories), a good source of fibre (4gm) and multiple nutrients. They’re packed with vitamins A, C, K, as well as pantothenic acid (B5), folate (B9), potassium, iron, copper and manganese.

Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, the antioxidant carotenoid that gets converted to vitamin A and helps boost our immunity and eye health. Two particular carotenoids — lutein and zeaxanthin are known to help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (deterioration of the retina).

Research now points to the diabetes-prevention capabilities of carotenoids, besides their link to the reduced risk of several cancers, notably lung and prostate cancers. Now it is also clear that carotenoids actually inversely affect insulin resistance by regulating the amount of insulin and glucose that is being used and metabolised by the body, and thus help lower blood sugar. So they can actually help diabetics live a normal, healthy life. That’s another myth (that diabetics should shun carrots) broken! But of course I recommend eating carrots in moderation (two small carrots a day is good) because they contain more sugar than any other vegetable, aside from beets.

Foods rich in beta-carotene are great for our bone health too, as studies have shown that their intake is related to greater bone mass. Besides, carrots also deliver small amounts of other vital bone nutrients such as vitamin C and calcium.

And as carotenoids are fat-soluble, when you eat carrots, they stimulate bile in the liver to flow and thus help remove waste and keep our liver smiling. Finally beta-carotene protects the central nervous system against aging, so can actually help keep our memory sharp.

Carrots deliver the difficult-to-find vitamin B8, also called inositol, which supports the formation and maintenance of healthy cells, and also exhibits strong stress and anxiety-relief properties. It also functions as a neurotransmitter, playing a vital role in mental health and cognitive functions.

Carrots, because of their high-soluble fibre content, largely pectin, have been found to help cut down cholesterol in the body. And as they are a rich source of potassium, which is a vasodilator, they help relax the tension in the blood vessels and arteries and boost blood flow and circulation.

Coumarin, a natural compound found in carrots, also helps keep blood pressure tamed and hypertension away, besides preventing asthma and being anti-osteoporosis.

Cook with them

The idea is to include carrots in both raw and cooked forms in the diet, as both deliver different benefits. While there is some loss of minerals and water-soluble vitamins when cooked, antioxidant absorption, particularly of beta carotene, is maximised when carrots are cooked with a small amount of fat, as this antioxidant becomes more accessible to the body when its tough cell walls are slightly broken down. A little bit of fat actually helps our body absorb beta-carotene and other antioxidants better.

So, besides gajar halwa, which you must eat, and kanji — a brilliant drink to have — you can simply roast or sauté carrots in olive oil, steam and purée them to make a rich, creamy soup or shred and add to salads. Also, try this quickie recipe: steam 10 baby carrots or regular carrots chopped into thick sticks in water (to quick steam carrots, fill the bottom of the steamer with two inches of water and bring to a rapid boil. Slice carrots one-fourth-inch thick and steam for five minutes), or microwave for five minutes.

Stir in one tablespoon maple syrup and one tablespoon Dijon mustard while the carrots are hot. Dig in.

They are fancy and delicious, and a sub-100 calorie snack that satisfies the sweet tooth, too.