A viral post on X claiming that eating raw carrots daily removes excess estrogen from the gut has garnered approximately 2.8 million views. The post also asserts that most men are “estrogen dominant” without knowing it.
The post is accompanied by images of Erling Haaland, the Manchester City and Norwegian national football team striker who has been in the spotlight recently for his performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eating a carrot, lending the claim an air of celebrity credibility. We decided to take a closer look at what the science actually says.
What is estrogen?
Estrogen is a hormone primarily associated with female reproductive health, but males produce it too, albeit in smaller amounts. It plays an important role in bone density, heart health and brain function for everyone.
When estrogen levels in men are consistently higher than they should be, it can cause symptoms including infertility, erectile dysfunction and enlarged breast tissue. This is likely what the post means when it refers to “excess estrogen” in men.
The first claim: does carrot fibre remove excess estrogen?
Carrots contain dietary fibre that supports digestion and gut health, and a high-fibre diet has generally been associated with improved estrogen regulation.
In a CNBC report examining the recent viral raw carrot salad trend, a similar social media claim that eating a daily raw carrot salad can balance hormones, Sue-Ellen Anderson Haynes, a registered dietitian nutritionist and national spokesperson for the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, noted that eating fibrous, raw foods can support the gut’s ability to process and release excess estrogen. The gut contains microbes that produce enzymes to break down estrogen, and fibre helps support this process, meaning estrogen is more efficiently broken down and excreted rather than reabsorbed into the body.
However, Anderson Haynes was also clear on the limits of the evidence. There are no in-depth studies that examine the impact of raw carrots on estrogen levels specifically.
The claim about eating raw carrots specifically appears to originate from the late Ray Peat, a US-based biologist who wrote extensively about the relationship between gut health, hormonal balance and diet. He claimed to have observed several women who suffered from premenstrual symptoms, including migraines, and found that their symptoms improved after eating carrots, which he attributed to a reduction in estrogen. These conclusions were based on informal personal observations, not a clinical trial.
From our research, the closest peer-reviewed human study to examine whether eating carrots affects bile acid excretion, the process through which estrogen is thought to be removed from the body, was a 1994 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, which found no statistically significant effect. No recent human clinical trial appears to have examined this question directly. A 2026 review of the evidence concluded that while the general mechanism of fibre and estrogen excretion is real, no human trial has demonstrated that eating raw carrots specifically produces this effect.
The second claim: are most men estrogen dominant?
“Estrogen dominance” is not a formal clinical diagnosis recognised by major medical organisations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or the Endocrine Society.
The term has been typically used in integrative medicine contexts to describe a state where estrogen activity is disproportionately high relative to progesterone (another hormone that plays an important role in reproductive health). Additionally, there are no universally accepted laboratory thresholds for identifying this state, and it is typically inferred from clinical symptoms or hormone ratios rather than a definitive test.
Elevated estrogen relative to progesterone is a pattern documented primarily in women, and the assertion that it affects most men silently is not supported by clinical evidence.
Hence, we rate the claim that eating raw carrots removes excess estrogen from the gut, and that most men are unknowingly estrogen dominant, as likely false.
When encountering health claims online, it is worth being mindful of the images and endorsements used to promote them. Erling Haaland has been photographed eating carrots on multiple occasions and has previously spoken about his belief in eating whole, locally sourced foods. However, he has never stated that he eats carrots to manage hormonal balance. Using a prominent athlete’s image alongside a health claim implies an endorsement that has never been made.
It is also worth considering the source. Path of Men, the X account behind this post, describes itself as helping men “level up in life” and publishes a mix of health tips, financial advice and motivational content. While such accounts may present themselves as helpful resources, health concerns are best discussed with a qualified medical professional rather than acted upon based on social media posts.
