Cooked carrots contain a wealth of vitamins and minerals, making them a healthy addition to any diet. You may leave carrots off your menu plan because you have heard they are high in carbohydrates and sugar. In reality, carrots are a quality source of carbohydrates featuring fiber and antioxidants. Cooking carrots may actually make some of their nutrients more available for use by your body.
Calories and Macronutrients
A 1/2-cup serving of boiled, sliced carrots contains just 27 calories. The carrots have no fat and only 1 g of protein. The protein in carrots is lacking some of the essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own, so it is considered incomplete. Cooked carrots contain 6 g of carbohydrates per 1/2-cup with 2 g of fiber. This serving also offers 3 g of naturally-occurring sugar.
Vitamins
Cooked carrots provide more than 100 percent of the daily value of vitamin A per 1/2 cup, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. With 13,288 international units of vitamin A, cooked carrots support vision and reproductive health. Cooked carrots are also a source of vitamin C, with 2.8 mg, and vitamin K with 10.7 micrograms per 1/2 cup. Cooked carrots also contain small amounts of all of the B vitamins except for B-12 and vitamin E.
Minerals
Cooked carrots contain 183 mg of potassium per 1/2 cup -- approximately the same amount as a half cup of green beans or a small peach. The carrots also offer 1 to 2 percent of the daily value of iron, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Cooked carrots also provide minor amounts of copper, sodium, manganese and selenium.
Beta-Carotene
Carrots contain the antioxidant beta-carotene. A study in the "European Journal of Nutrition" published in December 2003 found that consuming cooked and pureed carrots resulted in a greater absorption of this antioxidant than eating raw carrots. The body makes vitamin A from beta-carotene, explaining carrots' high value of this nutrient.
References
- "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Beta-Carotene Bioavailability From Differently Processed Carrot Meals in Human Ileostomy Volunteers; O. Livny; December 2003
- Drugs.com: Potassium Content Of Foods List
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Beta-Carotene
- USDA Nutrient Database: Carrots, Cooked, Boiled, Drained, Without Salt
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