Food

I am thinking about food today. I'm eating my carrots (have an apple for later on) and I am wondering why carrots are banned from low carb diets. Carrots have so much good in them. I've decided I won't go on any diet that says a certain vegetable or fruit is banned. Are all those carbs in carrots going to put tons of weight on you? If you eat a cup of carrots a day will you gain 1+lbs a week? Or is it you won't lose weight if you eat carrots? If carrots are bad apples have to be worse. Maybe that's why I only lost 17lbs since March. Dammit if I didn't eat carrots and apples 2-3times a week I would of lost 30+lbs (extreme sarcasm!) Anyhow here are the benefits of carrots:

Health Benefits
Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds, and the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes. Carrots' antioxidant compounds help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision.
Beta-carotene helps to protect vision, especially night vision. After beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the liver, it travels to the retina where it is transformed into rhodopsin--a purple pigment that is necessary for night-vision. Plus beta-carotene's powerful antioxidant actions help provide protection against macular degeneration and the development of senile cataracts--the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
Carotenoids and Cancer
Carrots are by far one of the richest source of carotenoids--just one cup provides 16,679 IUs of beta-carotene, more than 250% of the RDA, and 3,432 REs (retinol equivalents), or roughly 686.3% the RDA for vitamin A. High carotenoid intake has been linked with a 20% decrease in postmenopausal breast cancer and an up to 50% decrease in the incidence of cancers of the bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx, and esophagus. Extensive human studies suggest that a diet including as little as one carrot per day could conceivably cut the rate of lung cancer in half. Remember the study in which heavy long-term cigarette smokers were given synthetic beta-carotene, and it did not appear to prevent them from developing lung cancer? Well, not only is synthetic beta-carotene not biochemically identical to the real stuff found in carrots, but scientists now think that carrots' protective effects are the result of a team effort among several substances abundant in carrots, including alpha-carotene--another, less publicized carotenoid. A recent National Cancer Institute study found lung cancer occurence was higher in men whose diets did not supply a healthy intake of alpha-carotene.
Carotenoids and Blood SugarIntake of foods such as carrots that are rich in carotenoids may be beneficial to blood sugar regulation. Research has suggested that physiological levels, as well as dietary intake, of carotenoids may be inversely associated with insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels.
Falcarinol in Carrots Protects against Colon Cancer
Although best known for their high content of beta carotene, carrots also contain a phytonutrient called falcarinol that may be responsible for the recognized epidemiological association between frequently eating carrots and a reduced risk of cancers.