Onions and carrots are excellent choices for improving your diet because of their nutrient content. These versatile vegetables are available throughout the year, and you can eat them raw in salads or cook them into soups. You can also be a little more creative and increase the nutrient content of dishes such as meatloaf by cooking grated onions and carrots into the recipe.
Vitamins C and E
A cup of raw onions provides 12 milligrams of vitamin C, or 20 percent of the daily value, and 1 cup of raw carrots supplies 7 milligrams, or 12 percent of the daily value. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that may help lower your risk for heart disease because it helps your body metabolize cholesterol properly, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Vitamin E is another heart-healthy antioxidant vitamin, and each cup of carrots provides 0.8 milligrams of vitamin E, or 5 percent of the daily value.
Carrots are known for their high amount of vitamin A, and a single cup of chopped, raw carrots provides 21,384 international units of vitamin A, or 428 percent of the daily value. Vitamin A plays a role in the visual cycle, and it is necessary for maintaining healthy vision and preventing night blindness, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Inadequate Vitamin A intake can make iron-deficiency anemia worse. Onions do not provide vitamin A.
Onions and carrots provide some nutrients that are not essential components of your diet, but these phytochemicals, or plant nutrients, may lower your risk for cancer and heart disease, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Onions and garlic provide a phytochemical called allicin, which has a white color and is also in garlic. Allicin may have antioxidant activity and lower your risk of having a stroke because of its anti-clotting actions, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.
Additional Nutrients in Onions and Carrots
Onions and carrots are good sources of dietary fiber, with 2.7 grams in 1 cup of onions and 3.6 grams in 1 cup of carrots. Fiber helps lower cholesterol levels, and the daily value for a 2,000-calorie diet is 25 grams. A cup of onions has 234 milligrams of potassium, and each cup of carrots supplies 410 milligrams. Onions have only 64 calories and 6 milligrams of sodium per cup, and each cup of carrots has 52 calories and 88 milligrams of sodium. Both vegetables are fat-free and cholesterol-free.
- Department of Agriculture: Nutrient Data for 11282, Onions, Raw
- Department of Agriculture: Nutrient Data for 11124, Carrots, Raw
- University of Michigan Health System: Healing Foods Pyramic: Fruits and Vegetables
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Vitamin A
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Vitamin E
- Food and Drug Administration: Calculate the Percent Daily Value for the Appropriate Nutrients
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center: Garlic and Organosulfur Compounds
- Onion, carrot image by Viachaslau Makouski from Fotolia.com