Anemia has been associated to excessive carrot desires, which can be treated by increasing iron intake. Carrot addiction, on the other hand, is a rare but true disorder that can lead to hypercarotenemia and is considered to be caused by unidentified chemical components in beta carotene.
Excessive carrot eating has been the subject of medical research since the early 1900s. While hypercarotenemia, a condition in which the skin turns yellow or orange, is the most well-known side effect, the British Journal of Addiction has documented cases of patients who developed a psychological dependence on carrots, exhibiting withdrawal symptoms such as nervousness, cravings, insomnia, and irritability.
The science of carrot addiction is unknown. Some experts believe beta carotene is to blame for the addiction, but others have looked into the link between those who start eating carrots as a distraction while trying to quit smoking. Carrot eating and withdrawal get linked with nicotine withdrawal because it is an aggressively oral act.
Food cravings are thought to be more mental than physical in nature, and are frequently used to relieve stress or as a side effect of emotional eating. Cravings, on the other hand, are frequently focused on foods heavy in fat or sugar, which cause a spike in serotonin levels. Antidepressants were used to treat a woman’s carrot addiction in 1996, but they had no effect on her carrot intake.
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