Carrot is one vegetable that we all have our hearts set on! Primarily a winter vegetable, this juicy, crunchy delight is available year-round and holds a constant place in our kitchen. It is loaded with dietary fibre, beta carotene, vitamin A, potassium and more. These essential nutrients may help promote better digestion, eye-health, skin-health, and manage cholesterol and blood pressure levels. As per experts, carrot, due to its generous amount of fibre-content, can also be a great addition to weight loss diet. Have it raw as a salad or whip up a tasty sabzi with it, carrot tastes delicious in every form.
But did you know that cooked carrots may trigger an allergic reaction? A new study, conducted by a research team of the University of Bayreuth, contradicts the earlier beliefs that raw carrot may lead to allergic reactions. For the unversed, carrot can lead to oral allergy syndrome in several people where they experience itchy throat and mouth. It is also called pollen-food allergy syndrome.
"The carrot's allergen, Dau c 1, assumes a structure that is harmless to allergy sufferers when highly heated. However, as soon as the temperature drops, it largely regains its natural structure," read a report published in ANI. The findings were published in the journal 'Molecular Nutrition & Food Research'.
"Heating carrots does not destroy or only incompletely destroys the protein structures that can cause allergic reactions," said Prof. Dr Birgitta Wohrl from the Biochemistry IV research group at the University of Bayreuth.
The study further mentioned that it is not only the cooked or canned carrots that affect people (allergic to carrots), but the extracts in food may also have the same reaction.
Hence, as per the researchers, the ones sensitive to carrot allergen should generally avoid consumption of carrots in any form.