Carrots vs Kale – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing carrots to kale, we picked the kale.

Why?

Not entirely a like-for-like comparison here (root vegetable vs leafy greens), but these are both well-known as carotene-containing heavyweights, and kale emerges victorious:

In terms of macros, carrots have more carbs while kale has more protein and fiber. An easy first-round win here for kale.

In the category of vitamins, both are great! But, carrots contain more of vitamins A and B5, whereas kale contains more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, C, E, and K. And while carrot’s strongest point is vitamin A, a cup of carrots contains around 10x the recommended daily dose of vitamin A, whereas a cup of kale contains “only” 6x the recommended daily dose of vitamin A. So, did we really need the extra in carrots? Probably not. And vitamin B5 is in almost all foods (its name, pantothenic acid, literally means “from everywhere”), so it’s very hard to be deficient in that unless literally starving to death. In any case, kale already won on overall vitamin coverage, by a long way.

Looking at minerals, kale again sweeps. On the one hand, carrots contain more sodium. On the other hand, kale contains a lot more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. Not a tricky choice!

In other considerations, kale also has more polyphenols, most notably flavonols such as kaempferol and quercetin. So that’s another point in kale’s favor.

But don’t be fooled: carrots really are a nutritional powerhouse and a great food. Kale is just better—nutritionally speaking, in any case. If you’re making a carrot cake, please don’t try substituting kale; it will not work 😉

In any case, adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for kale, but by all means do enjoy either or both; diversity is good!

Want to learn more?

You might like to read:

• Brain Food? The Eyes Have It!
• What Does Kaempferol Do, Anyway?
• Fight Inflammation & Protect Your Brain, With Quercetin

Take care!