Interesting Facts About Carrots

Carrots come in all sizes, shapes and colors. These root vegetables grow around the world. As soon as the roots form, they can be harvested without waiting for mature growth. In kitchen recipes they are boiled, steamed, baked, and eaten raw. They are a popular snack food. They feed people, livestock and wildlife.

History

Carrots have been garden-grown for nearly 2,000 years. Historians believe carrots originally came from Afghanistan. At first carrots were valued for their leaves and seeds. The aromatic leaves and seeds were used for cooking and for herbal medicine. The Greeks reportedly used carrot leaves to treat cancer. Early carrot colors were purple, white, yellow, red and black. Orange carrots were not developed until Dutch growers bred carrots with sweet flavored orange-color roots. These developed in recent centuries into modern carrots.

Size

Carrots grow from small finger-size carrots to foot-long garden carrots. Some carrots grow a root mass that looks like a tangle of carrots. These unusual carrots grow large like the world-record 19-lb. carrot root mass grown in Alaska in the early 2000s. A carrot grower in South Wales produced a Guinness record-setting carrot, which was over 16 feet long. The baby carrots sold as snacks or mini-carrots in markets are usually full-size carrots that have been cut and shaped to finger-food size.

Effects

Eating a large amount of carrots or other foods containing beta-carotene or other carotenoids can cause a health condition called carotenemia. Carotenemia is caused when a person eats too many foods with carotenoids. The carotenoids are natural fat-soluble pigments found in carrots, citrus fruits, pumpkin and other foods. Carotenoids in large quantities work their way through the body to the skin and make the skin look yellow or orange. Carotenemia is neither permanent nor harmful. When the person stops eating large amounts of carrots or other carotenoid-rich foods, the skin slowly returns to normal.

Benefits

Carrots are high in vitamin A and carotenoids. The fat-soluble carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that studies show can protect against cardiovascular disease. Another carrot compound called falcarinol may help protect against cancer. Studies indicate that one carrot a day could cut the risk of lung cancer in half. Researchers believe that one way carrots may prevent cancer is by improving cell to cell communication. When body cells do not communicate well, some of them apparently overgrow as cancer.

Potential

Carrots may be a breakthrough for eco-friendly manufacturing. Two scientists in Scotland, David Hepworth and Eric Whale, invented a biological-based material called Curran. This high-tech material is primarily made from carrots. The men said that they break carrots down into small particles and combine these nano fibers with resin for a tough product. Curran was first used for making fishing rods. The inventors believe Curran is an environmentally friendly material that can be developed for snowboards, vehicle components and other products. It could replace carbon fiber and reduce oil consumption in manufacturing.

Resources

• World Carrot Museum: Curran