Carrots are a great food, a fact known to almost everyone on Earth. However, how to "eat them and have them turn into nutrition" is a mystery to many. There are some common misconceptions about eating carrots; let's take a look at them.
1. Vegetables are more nutritious when raw because their nutrients don't escape. Therefore, carrots should also be eaten raw to be nutritious.
Wrong. Although carrots are a vegetable, they contain carotenoids, which are fat-soluble. They must bind with fat to be broken down by enzymes. Carotenoids are relatively stable during cooking. Basic nutritional science shows that Chinese stir-frying methods can preserve 76% to 94% of them. Therefore, when eaten raw, the carotenoids in carrots are difficult to absorb without fat, leading to waste. By the same logic, flash-fried liver or clear-fried chicken liver is more beneficial for the absorption and utilization of Vitamin A than boiled liver in salt water.2. An overdose of Vitamin A can cause poisoning, so carrots shouldn't be eaten too often.
Wrong. An excessive intake of Vitamin A (from things like cod liver oil or the liver of a dog that has hibernated for the winter) can lead to poisoning, with symptoms mainly including loss of appetite, excessive excitability, bone pain, limited limb movement, hair loss, liver enlargement, muscle stiffness, itchy skin, headaches, and dizziness. In adults, poisoning can occur from a long-term daily intake of more than 15,000 micrograms of retinol equivalents. However, after a large intake of carrots, the only known effect is a yellowing of the skin due to a buildup of carotenoids in the fat, which disappears after consumption stops. No other toxicity has been found. On the contrary, the anti-cancer effects of carotenoids are more valued than those of Vitamin A because they also have antioxidant properties. Eating carrots regularly can reduce the incidence of lung, stomach, and prostate cancer.3. All green vegetables, as well as red and yellow vegetables and fruits, contain carotenoids, so they can all be a source of Vitamin A.
Wrong. It's true they all contain carotenoids, but their biological effectiveness is different. Beta-carotene is the highest, with 6 micrograms equivalent to 1 microgram of Vitamin A. Other carotenoids are less than half as effective. Furthermore, zeaxanthin, capsanthin, and lycopene cannot be broken down to form Vitamin A at all.Therefore, when we eat carrots, we should pay attention to the cooking methods. For example, stir-fried shredded carrots, carrots and yam slices stir-fried with meat, or beef stew with carrots and potatoes are all ways to allow beta-carotene to be absorbed by the body. Eating them raw only adds to the burden of the digestive system, meaning even the "little ginseng" would just "pass through" without being absorbed.