In addition, carrots also contain useful amounts of vitamin B3, C and E. When eaten raw, they also provide potassium, calcium, iron and zinc but these are partly destroyed on cooking. The red variety contains 10-15 times more carotene than the yellow-orange variety.  Eating 50 gm of carrots can help meet the daily requirement of beta-carotene. Those who eat large amounts of carrots may develop carotenemia, a yellowish tinge on palms and skin.  This can be differentiated from jaundice as the whites of the eyes are not yellow.

Unlike most other vegetables, carrots are more nutritious when eaten cooked than raw. Because raw carrots have tough cellular walls, the body is able to convert less than 25 per cent of their beta-carotene into vitamin A. Cooking, however, breaks down the cell membranes. Some fat in the meal is needed to absorb beta-carotene optimally as it is a fat-soluble vitamin. Pureed carrots are good for babies with diarrhoea. Carrots, however, have been known to contain toxic chemicals and tests found unacceptably high levels of organo-phosphrous pesticides in some. Peeling carrots and slicing off their tops removes virtually all of these residues. It is best to choose organically grown ones. The valuable nutrients lie either in or just beneath the skin. So if the carrots are young, simply scrub them.