10 Benefits of Carrots the Crunchy Powerfood
Forget about Vitamin A pills. With this orange crunchy powerfood, you get Vitamin A and a host of other powerful health benefits including beautiful skin, cancer prevention, and anti- aging.
Benefits of Carrots.
1. Improved vision:
Western cultures understanding of carrots being good for the eyes is one of the few we got right. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the liver. Vitamin A is transformed in the retina, to rhodopsin, a purple pigment necessary for night vision.
Beta-carotene has also been shown to protect against macular degeneration and senile cataracts. A study found that people who eat the most beta-carotene had 40 percent lower risk of macular degeneration than those who consumed little.
2. Cancer Prevention:
Studies have shown carrots reduce the risk of lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Researchers have just discovered falcarinol and falcarindiol which they feel cause the anticancer properties.
Falcarinol is a natural pesticide produced by the carrot that protects its roots from fungal diseases. Carrots are one of the only common sources of this compound. A study showed 1/3 lower cancer risk by carrot eating mice.
3. Anti-aging
The high levels beta-carotene act as an antiocidant to cell damage done to the body through regular metabolism. It help slows down the aging of cells.
4. Health Glowing Skin (from the inside)
Vitamin A and antioxidants protects the skin from sun damage. Deficiences of vitamin A cause dryness to the skin, hair and nails. Vitamin prevents premature wrinkling, acne, dry skin, pigmentation, blemishes, uneven skin tone.
5. A Powerful Antiseptic.
Known by herbalists to prevent infection. They can be used on cuts shredded raw or boiled and mashed.
6. Bea! utiful S kin (from the outside)
Carrots are used as an inexpensive and very convenient facial mask. Just mix grated carrot with a bit of honey or follow this recipe.
7. Prevent Heart Disease
Studies show that diets high in carotenoids are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Carrots have not only beta-carotene but also alpha-carotene and lutein.
The regular consumption of carrots also reduces cholesterol levels because the soluble fibers in carots binding with bile acids.
8. Cleanse the Body
Vitamin A assists the liver in flushing out the toxins from the body. It reduces the bile and fat in the liver. The fibres present in carrots help clean out the colon and hasten waste movement.
9. Healthy Teeth and Gums
Its all in the crunch! Carrots clean your teeth and mouth. They scrape off plaque and food particles just like toothbrushes or tooth paste. Carrots stimulate gums and trigger a lot of saliva, which being alkaline, balances out the acid forming, cavity forming bacteria. The minerals in carrots prevent tooth damage.
10. Prevent Stroke:
From all the above benefits it is no surprise that a Harvard University study, people who ate more than six carrots a week are much less likely to suffer a stroke than those who ate only one carrot a month or more.
Fun Facts on Carrots
Rabbits love to eat carrots but they shouldnt eat too much.
Remember that a rabbit eating a single carrot is like us eating over twenty! They like the sweetness and carrots are good for their teeth but too many simple sugars with cause digestive problems and diabetes. They probably would ! do bette r with the carrot tops. We would benefit from tops also but probably wont eat them!
Carrots are the second most popular type of vegetable after potatoes.
The biggest carrot recorded is more than 19 pounds and the longest is over 19 feet!
You can see them at this link biggest carrot but they arent particularly pretty!
There are over 100 species of carrots.
Some are big. Some are small and they come in a variety of colours including:
Orange Carrots; Purple Carrots White Carrots
Yellow Carrots Red Carrots
English women in the 1600s often wore carrot leaves in their hats in place of flowers or feathers.
The name carrot comes from the Greek word karoton,
The beta-carotene that is found in carrots was actually named for the carrot itself!
The average American eats about 12 pounds of carrots a year.
Thats only one cup per week. We could easily triple that with great benefits if we were also eating a variety of other vegetables.
How To Eat Carrots
The nutrition in carrots are tightly encased in protein sacs that have to be broken by heat (cooking) or mechanical action (grinding, juicing, proper chewing).
Cooking the carrots in fat, oils or pureeing, juicing them increases the availability of carotenoids by 600%.
Fats help the absorption of carotenoids into the blood by 1000% as carotenoids are fat soluble.
Recipes with Carrots
Carrots with Arame Seaweed recipe for health.
Chili Con Vege Here is Dianas version of Chili, which everyone loves.
Carrots with Orange: A surprising but delightful combinati! on.and i ts fast!
