Baby carrots aren’t just fun-sized carrots anymore. A recent study has found that simply snacking on them three times a week can significantly increase levels of beneficial carotenoids in the skin of young adults.
These findings suggest that even minor dietary changes can lead to notable health benefits.
Conducted by researchers at Samford University, the study revealed that incorporating baby carrots into a weekly diet enhanced skin carotenoids, which are plant pigments associated with various health benefits.
Combining the baby carrots with a multivitamin containing beta carotene led to an even more pronounced increase in carotenoid levels.
Because carotenoids cause the vivid red, orange and yellow hues in many fruits and vegetables, they serve as a key indicator of fruit and vegetable intake, as they can only be obtained through diet.
“Carotenoids are not able to be synthesised by the body very easily, so they embed themselves in our skin and so that's why we can use that as a biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake,” Mary Harper Simmons, a Master of Science in Nutrition student at Samford University and author of the study, told BBC Science Focus.
“But what has been shown in research is that people who consume and have a high level of carotenoids have higher levels of antioxidant activity going on in the body, which means that there are lower levels of inflammation and lower risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cardiovascular disease.”
Simmons cited previous studies that showed consuming a whopping three times the recommended daily serving of fruit and vegetables for three weeks can increase skin carotenoids.
“We wanted it to be an easy grab-and-go snack … most people tend to like them and they are really high in carotenoids,” she said.
The research will be presented at NUTRITION 2024, the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting in Chicago from June 29 to July 2. It involves 60 young adults randomly assigned to different dietary intervention groups for four weeks.
The groups included participants who consumed Granny Smith apple slices (control), 100 grams (about half a cup) of baby carrots, a multivitamin supplement containing beta carotene, or a combination of baby carrots and the supplement.
Results showed a 10.8 per cent increase in skin carotenoid scores among those who ate baby carrots, and a 21.6 per cent increase in those who combined baby carrots with the multivitamin.
Interestingly, the group taking beta carotene alone showed no significant changes. “We’re not quite sure why that is; it’s actually an area of interest for the next portion of research that we’ll be doing,” Simmons said.
“To get a beneficial effect, people should choose a multivitamin that contains beta carotene, and remember to eat baby carrots at least three times a week.”
Other things the team are looking into for future work include different populations and other carotenoid foods, such as sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables.
About our expert
Mary Harper Simmons is a Master of Science in Nutrition student at Samford University. She is the presenting author of a talk titled 'Effect of a Four-week Intervention Using Baby Carrots or Multivitamin Supplements on Skin-Carotenoid Scores in Young Adults' at the NUTRITION 2024 conference, where this research is to be presented.
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