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International Carrot Day

Tuesday the 4 April 2023 is International Carrot Day! It was first celebrated in 2003 to spread knowledge of carrots to the world. If you love carrots or just want to know a bit more about this delicious yet versatile vegetable, then this is the blog for you.

Why Eat Carrots?

Carrots are one of the main British root vegetables with over 700,000 tonnes being produced each year 1.

Due to it being a very versatile vegetable it is a great way to add more plant points into your diet – feeding all those hungry gut microbes. They can be included in both savoury and sweet dishes, for example oven roasted carrots on the side of a Sunday roast, or mixed into a sweet carrot cake. Roasted, baked, steamed, boiled or even raw there are many different ways to enjoy carrots to fit your preferences.

Carrots are also a great source of dietary fibre and nutrients. Dietary fibre is essential in the diet, with adults being recommended 30g of fibre per day 2. Eating dietary fibre has seen many benefits to increasing diversity of your gut microbiota and even improving symptoms of constipation 2.

Carrots are a great source of beta-carotene, which gives yellow and orange fruits and vegetables their colour 3. Beta- carotene is converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for helping the body’s immune system and vision4.

Recipes

If you need some inspiration on how to use this wonderful vegetable why not try out our Love Your Gut Roasted Baby Carrot Salad with Walnuts, Puy lentils and Feta salad or if you have a sweet tooth give our Carrot, Almond and Coconut Cake recipe a go – we’re “rooting” for you!

References

  1. Carrot Production Facts [ONLINE] Available at: http://britishcarrots.co.uk/carrot-production-facts/. [Accessed 24 March 2023].
  2. 2023. Fibre | British Dietetic Association (BDA). [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/fibre.html. [Accessed 24 March 2023].
  3. uk. 2023. Vitamins and minerals – Others – NHS. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/#beta-carotene. [Accessed 24 March 2023].
  4. uk. 2023. Vitamins and minerals – Vitamin A – NHS. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-a/. [Accessed 24 March 2023].