The Raw Carrot Salad Trend: Is it REALLY good for Estrogen Dominance?
The Raw Carrot Salad trend is still going strong on social media.
Is it REALLY good for estrogen dominance and hormone balance in your perimenopause years?
Unless you have an allergy to carrots, part of the apiaceae family, eating carrot salad won’t harm you.
What I believe to be harmful is jumping from trend to trend in search of a magic bullet to weight loss in menopause. These trends are part of that Diet Culture we have spent WAY too many or our younger years in!
The one way to find out if Raw Carrot Salad is helpful for hormones is for you is to try it! But I want you to keep this in mind when, or if, you do:
Just the act of increasing fiber may make you feel better, not just the Raw Carrot Salad.
And … do you even LIKE carrots?
Eating raw carrot salad for helping estrogen dominance and hormone balance is a trend that keeps popping up on every social media channel.
Almost every wellness blog has a recipe for Raw Carrot Salad, which stems from Dr. Ray Peat, and his Pro metabolic diet.
Who is Dr. Ray Peat?
Ray Peat is a professor, PhD, and author who has extensively studied and written about hormones for years.
Dr. Peat has a PhD in biology, and this blog post is not to compete with this gentlemen’s academic record or research. I can’t! I’m merely just providing some background to the trend of the raw carrot salad.
Deciding to take on any health practice or trend comes from a desire to feel your best. But not everything is the right thing for everybody, and carrot salad is no exception.
Especially if you HATE carrots.
Dr. Ray Peat is known for the Pro Metabolic “diet”. It’s also called the bioenergetic diet, stemming from the theory that all diseases are rooted in how our cells make energy and use energy.
In the Bioenergetic Theory of Health, the health of the body, and being free of disease, is all about cellular respiration and cellular energy.
What’s with the Raw Carrot Salad thing?
The whole raw carrot salad thing is based on detoxification of estrogen through fiber. Dr. Ray Peat claims the carrots have long fibers that bind to estrogen in a better manner than other vegetables.
Can I find a research article on that? Not yet!
If you have one send it to me! I would love to see that, and amend this blog post!
Estrogen, which is primarily made by the ovaries, corpus luteum, and placenta in premenopausal women, is also made by the adrenal glands and fat cells. This takeover from adrenal glands and fat cells happens as we age and lose our reproductive capability. The liver, skin, heart and brain can also produce a small amount of estrogen. (1)
There are different TYPES of estrogen, and they all go to the liver to be broken down. The excretion of the byproducts of estrogen happens in the gut. Taking care of your liver by eating a variety of protein, carbs and fiber (along with micronutrients) and decreasing alcohol consumption is important when it comes to overall health.
Alcohol can increase estrogen. Before you go nuts on carrot salad, take a look at your alcohol intake. (2)
I linked a YouTube clip below, where Dr. Peat states that he heard from a woman who felt better when she started a daily carrot salad. He tells how she had almost immediate relief from premenstrual and digestive issues. He goes on to say that he has collected data from a few people (um, how many?) after they started eating a carrot a day.
He also says that:
Whole carrot is anti stressing.
Carrots have a stimulating effect on intestine.
With less fiber in the diet, estrogen increases because it is reabsorbed back into the bloodstream.
This results in high estrogen and lower thyroid hormones.
Also results in decreased progesterone.
This in turn causes higher cortisol.
In this audio clip, he does state that FIBER in the intestine binds with the broken down hormones that the liver has created, as part of its detoxification process. Yep, fiber is important for that.
When there is enough fiber to bind with endotoxins, or the breakdown of things in our own bodies, this prevents the broken down hormonal byproducts from being absorbed back into the blood stream.
Fiber DOES promote digestive health and motility AND helps the health of your gut. Fiber DOES help eliminate ENDOTOXINS, the toxins our own body makes doing its daily processes of humming along. Endotoxins DO bind to the contents of the intestine and are eliminated through poop.
The many types of fiber we consume feed our good gut bacteria, and good gut bacteria seems to be linked to all positive aspects of health.
(When it comes to the gut, I always move toward an add-in approach to gut health. Not all gut tactics are for everyone)
But does it have to be CARROT fiber?
If you hate carrots, don't gag back a shredded carrot salad!
There are plenty of foods that can supply your daily fiber and help with your natural detoxification system through the liver, increase bile secretion, support good gut bacteria. There are lots of options to keep you pooping, which is an important thing for your health and gut!
Salads with greens, broccoli, cucumber, and cauliflower also provide fiber, and variety for the gut. The combos are endless and delicious.
The combos of raw carrot salad variations out there are ALSO endless.
If you want to make one and try it, it’s not going to harm you.
The basics for the salad include unpeeled carrot, shredded with a vegetable peeler, some type of fat, preferably non PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid) like coconut oil, or MCT oil and an acid like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
The vinegar and lemon are included for antimicrobial properties. Many influencers claim that carrots contain antimicrobial properties too.
Is THIS true?
While one famous dietician influencer says this is BS, there are a few articles to support this. The extracts of peeled and shredded carrots may have an antimicrobial effect against a range of food-borne micro-organisms. (3)
They may also be antifungal. (4)
One last thing:
Because Ray Peat advocates for fruit, fruit juices, and fructose, adding a fruit to the TRENDING raw carrot salad apparently supports the thyroid and stabilizes blood sugar.
Having stable blood sugar, and a thriving thyroid relies on many things, including your oral health, not just fructose.
One thing does not make you “optimally” healthy.
Health is a by-product of environment, attitude, thoughts, nutrition, happiness, connection and so much more.
Not just fructose and carrot salad.
Health is also NOT IN OUR COMPLETE CONTROL.
Stop eating things you don’t like.
I actually like carrots. And I like carrot cake. That’s my Inner Wisdom talking, telling me to eat things I DO like and to take health information with a grain of salt.
I want you to develop YOUR Inner Wisdom, too.
I encourage you to honor your hunger cues, and understand your own food habits and patterns.
I want you to get connected with your food and body again.
I do this with my course Mindless to Mindful.
Life get shorter as we age, doesn’t it?
Eat the salad AND the cake.
Sources:
https://raypeat.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfnH0lc2Bls
Cui J, Shen Y, Li R. Estrogen synthesis and signaling pathways during aging: from periphery to brain. Trends Mol Med. 2013 Mar;19(3):197-209. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2012.12.007. Epub 2013 Jan 22. PMID: 23348042; PMCID: PMC3595330.)
Rachdaoui N, Sarkar DK. Effects of alcohol on the endocrine system. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2013 Sep;42(3):593-615. doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2013.05.008. PMID: 24011889; PMCID: PMC3767933.
Babic I, Nguyen-the C, Amiot MJ, Aubert S. Antimicrobial activity of shredded carrot extracts on food-borne bacteria and yeast. J Appl Bacteriol. 1994 Feb;76(2):135-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb01608.x. PMID: 8144415.
Dawid C, Dunemann F, Schwab W, Nothnagel T, Hofmann T. Bioactive C₁₇-Polyacetylenes in Carrots (Daucus carota L.): Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives. J Agric Food Chem. 2015 Oct 28;63(42):9211-22. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b04357. Epub 2015 Oct 20. PMID: 26451696.