The New Complete Book of Food
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
A reduced risk of some kinds of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, carrots
and other foods rich in beta-carotene, a deep yellow pigment that your body converts to a
form of vitamin A, may lower the risk of cancers of the larynx, esophagus and lungs. There
is no such benefit from beta-carotene supplements; indeed, one controversial study actually
showed a higher rate of lung cancer among smokers taking the supplement.
Protection against vitamin A-deficiency blindness. In the body, the vitamin A from carrots
becomes 11-cis retinol, the essential element in rhodopsin, a protein found in the rods (the
cells inside your eyes that let you see in dim light). Rhodopsin absorbs light, triggering the
chain of chemical reactions known as vision. One raw carrot a day provides more than
enough vitamin A to maintain vision in a normal healthy adult.Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Oddly pigmented skin. The carotenoids in carrots are fat-soluble. If you eat large amounts
of carrots day after day, these carotenoids will be stored in your fatty tissues, including the
fat just under your skin, and eventually your skin will look yellow. If you eat large amounts
of carrots and large amounts of tomatoes (which contain the red pigment lycopene), your
skin may be tinted orange. This effect has been seen in people who ate two cups of carrots
and two tomatoes a day for several months; when the excessive amounts of these vegetables
were eliminated from the diet, skin color returned to normal.
False-positive test for occult blood in the stool. The active ingredient in the guaiac slide test for
hidden blood in feces is alphaguaiaconic acid, a chemical that turns blue in the presence of
blood. Carrots contain peroxidase, a natural chemical that also turns alphaguaiaconic acid
blue and may produce a positive test in people who do not actually have blood in the stool.Food/Drug Interactions
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