While the historical origins of the modern carrot are somewhat unclear, the first historical record of agricultural carrot production was in Central Asia in the ninth century. Arab traders probably brought carrots west into the Mediterranean in the 10th century, where it rapidly became a popular food throughout Europe and northern Africa. European travelers took carrots to North America in the 17th century, and the vegetable was introduced to Australia in the 18th century. The carrots we know today were most likely grown and stabilized in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries.
While today we mostly think of carrots as orange in color, the first record of orange carrots was in the 16th-century Netherlands. The earliest carrots, grown in Afghanistan, were purple. Other yellow, white and red carrots were grown in Turkey around the 10th century and were popular in Western Europe, until crossbreeding and mutations led to the standardization of the orange carrot in 16th-century Holland.
Carrots are rich in vitamin A, beta carotene and other antioxidants. Antioxidants like beta-carotene fight the accumulation of free radicals in the body, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer, including oral cavity and lung cancers. Free radicals are unstable molecules generated by incomplete digestive or decomposition processes. Beta carotene -- often called pro-vitamin A -- can also transformed into vitamin A by the liver, supporting eye functioning, skin health, growth and development of new tissues, and reproductive health, specifically the production of sperm. Not surprisingly considering its ample health benefits, historical records indicate that carrots and carrot seeds were used more as medicine than as food in the early history of the crop.
You may have heard about children with orange skin from eating too many carrots and -- although the stories are somewhat exaggerated -- doctors confirm the impact of carrot consumption on skin pigmentation. Carotenemia, the medical term for the yellowish coloration of skin due to excessive buildup of carotene pigments in the blood, is actually a real and common condition. Carotenemia is caused by excessive consumption of carrots and other carotene-containing vegetable like pumpkin and squash. The condition is mostly harmless and easily remedied by reducing consumption of the vegetables, but it is often confused with more serious conditions like jaundice.