The Carrot, Cooked or Raw: A Tale of Two Textures (and One Clever Gene)

We don’t give carrots nearly enough credit.

They’re treated like a garnish. A lunchbox fallback. Something to crunch on while you’re waiting for the “real” food.

But carrots, especially when you understand what they’re doing in your body, are one of the most functional, gene-responsive, and underestimated vegetables in the crisper drawer.

And whether you eat them raw or cooked? That’s not just a question of taste. It’s a story of form, function, and what your genes do with what you eat.

One Vegetable, Two Experiences

Raw carrot is sharp. Bright. Astringent. It scrapes across the palate, clearing the way, literally. That crunch? It's doing more than you think.

Raw carrot contains polyacetylenes, a lesser-known class of plant compounds with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. It also offers up soluble fibre, known for binding up excess estrogen and bile acids in the gut and escorting them out, a quiet detox partner that doesn’t ask for much.

Then there’s the roughage factor: raw carrot acts like a broom for your digestive system.

But here’s the thing: beta-carotene, the orange pigment carrots are famous for?

You can’t access much of it in raw form. Carrots hold it tightly in their cell walls, and your body needs a little heat (and fat) to coax it out.

That’s where cooking steps in.

When Heat Sets It Free

Cooked carrots are soft. Sweet. Earthy. Something changes in the alchemy, sugars deepen, flavours round out, and that vibrant orange becomes more than just colour, it becomes a nutrient delivery system.

Heating carrots breaks open the fibrous matrix that locks beta-carotene in place. Add a drizzle of olive oil or a spoonful of ghee, and you’ve got the co-factors needed to absorb and convert it into retinol, the active form of vitamin A.

And, this is where genetics comes in.

The Gene That Decides: BCMO1

The conversion of beta-carotene into usable vitamin A isn’t automatic. It depends on an enzyme encoded by the BCMO1 gene, Beta-Carotene Monooxygenase 1.

Some of us have versions of this gene that work like a dream: slice of pumpkin, roasted carrots, a bit of mango, and voilà your vitamin A needs are sorted.

But others (especially those with certain BCMO1 variants) don’t convert beta-carotene efficiently. That means even a carrot-heavy diet might not give you what you need, especially if your demand is high (think pregnancy, immune load, skin issues, or poor gut health).

From an evolutionary lens, this gene difference made sense. Some ancestral groups relied more on animal sources of vitamin A (liver, egg yolk, dairy), so there was less pressure to convert plant-based beta-carotene efficiently.

Others needed to squeeze what they could from plants, and developed the gene to do it.

Knowing your variation can help, but so can listening to your body. Fatigue, dry eyes, flaking skin, poor immunity, or trouble adjusting to the dark? Your vitamin A intake, or conversion, may need attention.

So… Raw or Cooked?

Both.

Raw carrot is a gut-friendly, detox-supportive, fibre-rich ally that helps you clear what your liver worked so hard to process.

Cooked carrot is a bioavailable, gentle source of antioxidant protection and vitamin A support, especially if you add healthy fat and don’t overcook it to mush.

This isn’t a contest. It’s a partnership. These are the same roots in different forms, each offering something different depending on what your body needs that day.

Tips to Make the Most of Your Carrots

• Raw: Grate with a touch of sea salt, ACV, and olive oil. Add some parsley. Let it sit. This is your hormone-friendly, microbiome-balancing salad that travels well and works in the background.

• Cooked: Roast in coconut oil or olive oil with turmeric, cumin, and sea salt. Add tahini drizzle. Cooked until just tender, this version delivers warmth, sweetness, and bioavailable beta-carotene.

• Both: Try shaving raw carrots onto a roasted carrot salad. Layer textures and get the best of both worlds.

The Bottom Line

Carrots are doing more than filling space on your plate.

They’re talking to your gut. Your liver. Your genes.

They’re working behind the scenes to absorb, escort, transform, and protect, one root, two expressions, many benefits.

And that, to me, is food literacy at its finest: knowing the same vegetable can show up in different ways, depending on how you prepare it, and how your body meets it.

So next time you crunch or roast, know this: You’re not just eating a carrot. You’re feeding a conversation.

Want to see where the science comes from? For the extra curious, the references are here.