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Vegetables are great not only for their versatility—they can be eaten raw or cooked, whole or chopped—but also for their health benefits. But those looking to incorporate more veggies into their diets may be missing one in particular.
Eating three servings of carrots per week may significantly increase the key nutrients found in the orange root vegetables, according to a new, unpublished study presented June 30 in Chicago at Nutrition 2024, the annual meeting of the American Association for Nutrition.
Surveys conducted in 2015 and 2019 separately found that only about 1 in 10 American adults eat the recommended 2 to 3 cups of vegetables daily, according to a 2022 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on fruit and vegetable intake. That statistic prompted lead study author Mary Harper Simmons and her colleagues to investigate a simple solution that could increase a person’s weekly vegetable intake.
“(Baby carrots) are grab-and-go, they go great with things like ranch, hummus — I’ve even seen people dip them in peanut butter — some like them plain,” says Simmons, a graduate student in nutrition at Samford University in Alabama. “I really want to show people that improving their health can be done with small, simple changes. … It doesn’t have to be a drastic change overnight.”
For the study, a serving of carrots, commonly sold in grocery stores and cut into smaller pieces, is equivalent to about eight to 12 carrots, or 100 grams, or half a cup, Simmons added.
The unpublished study looked at 60 young adults who ate carrots three times a week, did not eat carrots and took a multivitamin supplement instead, consumed carrots and a multivitamin together, or served as a control group and consumed neither carrots nor the supplement.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, researchers found that after four weeks, those who ate carrots had a 10.8% increase in carotenoids in their skin. These carotenoids are natural antioxidants that have been found to have health benefits, such as preventing inflammation and supporting heart health.
The researchers also found that those taking just the multivitamin (which contains the same carotenoid found in carrots) saw no change in their carotenoid levels, but those consuming carrots and the supplement saw the most benefits, increasing their skin carotenoids by 21.6%.
“People might think, ‘Hey, I’m taking a multivitamin supplement (that should be enough),’ but that alone didn’t increase carotenoid accumulation. It seemed to be a combination that increased it,” says Dr. Suresh Mathews, principal investigator of the new study and professor and chair of Samford’s department of nutrition and dietetics.
“The ‘food first’ philosophy always works. But for populations that are unable or limited to food alone, the combination of food and supplements seems to have an even greater impact in this case,” he added.
Benefits of eating carrots and other vegetables
“High vegetable consumption is associated with all sorts of positive health effects — the risk of all sorts of chronic diseases decreases with increased fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Dr. Sander Kersten, director of the department of nutritional sciences and the Schleifer Family Professor. Eating vegetables may protect against heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and obesity, according to the CDC.
Carrots and other orange- and red-hued vegetables like squash and sweet potatoes are unique in that they’re rich in beta-carotene, a carotenoid that the body converts to vitamin A, Kersten said. Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale are also rich in beta-carotene, she added.
According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin A is important for keeping your heart, lungs and other organs healthy, as well as supporting various body functions. Vitamin A deficiency is uncommon in the United States. People should still turn to eating fruits and vegetables to reap the benefits of natural, low-calorie, high-fiber foods, Kersten said.
Reminding everyone to include vegetables in a healthy diet is good for them, Simmons said, and that this message is especially important when it comes to young adults.
According to a 2022 CDC report, about 7% of adults While it is stated that all college students between the ages of 18-30 eat the recommended amount of vegetables, the American College Health Association’s 2023 National College Health Assessment revealed that 1 in 4 college students surveyed eat three or more servings of vegetables per day.
“You hear us tell kids, ‘Eat the rainbow,’ and I think that really applies to all ages,” Simmons said. “It’s good to have a variety of colors on your plate, and even if it’s not every time you eat, having variety throughout the day and throughout the week is definitely very beneficial for getting all those essential nutrients that our bodies need to function.”