Are Baby Carrots Bad For You?
Short answer
Baby carrots are not bad for you. While they are treated with chlorine to disinfect them before packaging, the levels used are very low - comparable to that of tap water. They are then further rinsed to get rid of any chlorine remaining on the surface.
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
You may have seen an article or read on a health-food blog that baby carrots are bad for you. The claim is generally that baby carrots are made from "deformed" carrots which are subsequently whittled down and soaked in chlorine. The chlorine is presented as a deadly and toxic additive that does damage to your body and kills off the good bacteria in your gut.
None of that is quite true. Baby carrots aren't made from "deformed" carrots: they're made from normal carrots, which are sorted by length and mechanically stripped of their skin. Federal law mandates that ready-to-eat vegetables like baby carrots be disinfected before packaging. So the carrots are misted or rinsed with a solution that contains very low levels of chlorine - comparable to the levels of chlorine in tap water, which varies by region but is generally insignificant. The chlorine solution is washed from the carrots before they're packaged.
At no point are the carrots "soaked" in chlorine, and there's not much evidence that they absorb significant levels of chlorine during the disinfection process. Chlorine has been used safely for decades to disinfect public water supplies and different kinds of food. There's very little evidence that it wreaks havoc on the bacteria in your gut, calcifies your pineal gland, or causes other damage to your body. What is dangerous is the chance of contracting bacteria like e. Coli or MRSA from food which has not been properly disinfected; such an infection can cause severe sickness or death and will require treatment by aggressive antibiotics that will wipe out the bacteria in your gut.
And the white film that forms on baby carrots? It's a natural process - the dehydration of surfaces on the carrot which have been cut. Because the entire skin of a baby carrot has been cut, it manifests the white film. The same would be true of a carrot from the garden that you sliced in half and left out. This "white blush" isn't caused by chlorine - there's actually some evidence that chlorine slows the process by which white carrots develop a blush.
What's more: baby carrots seem to be good for you. They've got relatively low levels of sugar compared to other vegetables and blunt the effects of sugar with a healthy dose of fiber. Carrots are also a good source of Vitamin A, which your body uses a number of different ways. Baby carrots aren't quite as nutritious as whole carrots - the skin that's stripped away in their production is where many of the nutrients in carrots are stored. They're not dangerous, however, and they still do a lot of good for your diet.
Ingredients to be aware of
- trace amounts of chlorine
Benefits
- low levels of sugar
-
great source of fiber
-
great source of vitamin a
-
promotes eye health
-
promotes skin health
-
antioxidant properties
Please turn your Ad Blocker off to see this content. Thank you!