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How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

fastcompany.com

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Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#41

Post by oihujyfgthyjuik »

kragen wrote: post #34
zasz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carrots don't cause the same insulin spike that candy bars do. Refined and processed sugars hit your bloodstream much more quickly than unprocessed foods. Carrots also don't taste as good as a chocolate bar, so it would still be an epic sacrifice.

You are mistaken. The technical term for "hit your bloodstream much more quickly than" is "has a higher glycemic index than". Carrots and chocolate bars both supposedly have the same glycemic index, 49: http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index-food-chart.h... while Snickers bars are down at 41. The reason carrots don't cause the same insulin spike is not that they don't hit your bloodstream as quickly, or any…

So chocolate covered carrots would be just as good for you?

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#42

Post by theBobMcCormick »

loupgarou21 wrote: post #33
rorrr wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You realize baby carrots are cut from the regular carrots?

They are cut from regular carrots, but as the story indicates, the farms mostly responsible for baby carrots changed their growing techniques to make carrots skinny and as long as possible. Perhaps the change in growing technique has also effected the flavor.

I had thought of the change in growing technique as being the cause, but you may be correct. I assumed it had something to do with the processing, shipping and storage times, preservatives, etc.

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#43

Post by sgoraya »

r00fus wrote: post #7

My wife won't eat carrots because they make her allergic (cooked ones are fine)... she only gets these reactions since moving here to the US from France. Since this is a duopoly from the same region (Central CA), perhaps the dropoff in the past few years is due to the carrot quality?

Regarding carrot quality, both Bolthouse and Grimway Farms have been growing a different type of carrot specifically for the baby carrot products.

A family friend is an exec at one of the above companies and he mentioned that the taste of the baby carrots are indeed more bland than the 'regular' carrots. I just conducted a highly scientific experiment and tasted one of each at lunch - my conclusion: he is correct :)

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#44

Post by karlmdavis »

enjo wrote: post #23
r00fus wrote: post #7

My wife won't eat carrots because they make her allergic (cooked ones are fine)... she only gets these reactions since moving here to the US from France. Since this is a duopoly from the same region (Central CA), perhaps the dropoff in the past few years is due to the carrot quality?

Out of curiosity: I have a friend who had the same allergy... she switched to purely organic carrots and it went away. Does it work the same way with your wife?

I've got the same thing myself: allergic to uncooked carrots and most fruits (e.g. pears, cantaloupes). Started when I was a teenager-- actually figured out what was going on for the first time eating a bag of baby carrots. I've tried organic pears and didn't notice any of the usual burning/itching. Still afraid to start eating them on a regular basis, though...

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#45

Post by metageek »

streeter wrote: post #39
noodle wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

for me, it was more simple. baby carrots are crazy expensive compared to normal carrots. i decided i was perfectly fine eating normal carrots instead.

I stopped buying baby carrots when I found out that they are just big carrots cut down. They aren't picked early or anything. Thus, a lot of waste is created to make baby carrots.

According to the article, baby carrots were invented to reduce waste. Carrots grow into all sorts of shapes and sizes, but supermarkets only buy a narrow range; the rejects get used for animal feed, or factory food. With baby carrots, more of the carrot gets eaten by humans—and presumably the stuff that's cut off is still sold the way the rejects used to be.

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#46

Post by SwellJoe »

kragen wrote: post #34
zasz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carrots don't cause the same insulin spike that candy bars do. Refined and processed sugars hit your bloodstream much more quickly than unprocessed foods. Carrots also don't taste as good as a chocolate bar, so it would still be an epic sacrifice.

You are mistaken. The technical term for "hit your bloodstream much more quickly than" is "has a higher glycemic index than". Carrots and chocolate bars both supposedly have the same glycemic index, 49: http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index-food-chart.h... while Snickers bars are down at 41. The reason carrots don't cause the same insulin spike is not that they don't hit your bloodstream as quickly, or any…

Which is why glycemic index is a loony way to determine your diet. Carrots aren't the most nutrient dense of vegetables, but they're vastly healthier than any candy bar, no matter what the glycemic index is. Insulinemic response might be a better measure, though even that is questionable, based on the preponderance of evidence.

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#47

Post by klenwell »

whakojacko wrote: post #10
mberning wrote: post #4

I see 'extreme' commercials for baby carrots all the time on local television. They can put all the marketing they want behind baby carrots, there is still one big problem: raw carrots taste like shit. I'd honestly rather go hungry than eat raw carrots, and no amount of cool marketing is going to change that.

Really? I love raw carrots and I know I'm not alone.

I love them, too, thanks largely to Bugs Bunny. A clip of Bugs chomping a carrot from one of his old cartoons has an almost Pavlovian effect on me.

Re: How Carrots Became the new Junk Food

#50

Post by kragen »

SwellJoe wrote: post #46
kragen wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are mistaken. The technical term for "hit your bloodstream much more quickly than" is "has a higher glycemic index than". Carrots and chocolate bars both supposedly have the same glycemic index, 49: http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index-food-chart.h... while Snickers bars are down at 41. The reason carrots don't cause the same insulin spike is not that they don't hit your bloodstream as quickly, or any…

Which is why glycemic index is a loony way to determine your diet. Carrots aren't the most nutrient dense of vegetables, but they're vastly healthier than any candy bar, no matter what the glycemic index is. Insulinemic response might be a better measure, though even that is questionable, based on the preponderance of evidence.

That's interesting. How can I learn more?
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