Carrot For Diabetes

Carrots are root vegetables known for their vibrant color and their ability to really benefit the vision. These vegetables belong to the Umbelliferae family and are available through the year. Carrots, like most vegetables, are powerhouses of nutrition. Carrots are frequently orange but can also be found in white, purple and red. The greens of carrots are also crunchy and refreshing to eat.

Carrots are rich in vitamin A, vitamin K. vitamin C, and potassium, and manganese, complex vitamin B, with folate, phosphorus and vitamin E in smaller quantities. They are crunchy to taste and can be added to many things like salads, wraps, bakes, and cakes or eaten plain like a snack. Also see nutrition benefits of carrot

While carrots are great for everyone, whether carrots are good for diabetes is still a point that is being debated. Carrots are high in natural sugar with a glycemic index as high as 97 when regular sugar is 100. There have been newer and more complex indexes that have been designed because though carrots are very high in sugar, they are also rich in healthy fiber along with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Many dieticians today do not classify carrots entirely on their sugar content. They also take into account that it is natural sugar and carrots can be had, moderately.

Diabetics can have carrots preferably as a snack or adding it to salads and pasta dishes. Cooking carrots caramelizes the sugar in the carrots and increases the glycemic index. Cooking or roasting is not a good idea but you can steam them if eating them raw is not always palatable. Carrots should be controlled the way diabetics control their intake of potatoes. People frequently drink carrot juice. Carrot juice is not a very good option for diabetics. Any fruit of vegetable juice, especially of vegetables like carrots, gets converted to glucose very quickly and can cause a spike in the blood sugar. If you are going to increase your carrot intake, you should check with your health professional or doctor just to be on the safe side. A moderate amount of carrot consumption would not hurt you, even if you are a diabetic. More on health benefits of carrot juice

There is no limit as to how many carrots you can eat but diabetics should not eat too many carrots in a day. There are no real side effects to eating too many carrots except perhaps turning mildly orange but that is only if you eat a large amount of carrots.

Submitted on January 16, 2014