Carrot is one of the most popular of versatile vegetables in world! It can be used as raw, cooked or squeezed fruit juice. People with almost every culture have consumed carrots throughout history. Carrots are known for their distinctive orange colors, but they can actually be found in various colors; purple, yellow, white and red.
Besides, you’ll usually see various colors of carrots in America. Carrot takes color from antioxidants called carotenoids. One of these carotenoids is betacarotin, a precursor of active vitamin A, which is responsible for many of benefits of carrot juice.
Many studies have shown that beta carotene is very important in improving immunity in body, in protecting skin, eye health and in combating free radical damage that can cause various chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Carrots are a valuable source of nutrition. Balancing blood sugar, improving blood health, removing constipation, fighting inflammation, clearing kidneys, carrot juice to protect brain functions, can help almost every part of your body.
Carrot also provides plenty of minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium as well as plenty of vitamins C, D, E and K. It is highly nutritious and cleansing due to high fiber content. Below are benefits of adding carrot or carrot juice to your diet regularly.
Protects Eye Health
Three important nutrients, betakarotene, lutein and zeaksantin significantly increases eye health in carrot. For example, when betakaroten is reduced, people may have different eye disorders such as macular degeneration and even blindness.
Lutein and zeaxanthin work to reduce risk of age-related visual loss. Only a cup of chopped carrots provides 400% of your vitamin a needs!
“Carrot contains vitamin A in form of beta carotene.”
Vitamin A is one of the most important nutrients to protect eye health and vision, especially when you get older.
Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness, and then permanent blindness. Vitamin A deficiency is actually number one cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Carrots can also reduce your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, a common cause of age-related visual loss.
When you eat carrots regularly or consume carrot juice, it will help maintain healthy eyes and your eyesight throughout your life. If carrots are not attractive to you because of sugar content, carrot juice has same eye-health benefits.
Source High Antioxidants
Carotenoids found in carrots and other orange vegetables are potent antioxidants that can help reduce risk of various forms of transient disease and serious chronic disease. Carrot and carrot juice protect body against free radical damage, harmful bacteria, viruses and inflammation, and benefit immune system.
Antioxidants responsible for benefits of carrot and carrot juice include: vitamin C, beta carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin. Carrot fights cancer by stopping DNA damage, inflammation levels and cell mutation. Assistance on this subject; carotenoid phytochemical and beta-carotene antioxidant; carrot is one of the most natural sources for this.
Reduces Heart Disease And Stroke Risk
Eating relatively dark-colored orange vegetables such as carrots reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in adult women. Regardless of other cardiovascular risks, current research shows that drinking carrot juice benefits heart health by reducing oxidative stress and improves body defenses against various forms of cardiovascular disease.
This effect depends on high antioxidant content of carrot. Carrot also works to lower cholesterol and increase bile production; This also increases in ability to digest fat of body.
This not only helps your digestive system to absorb nutritional values properly from food, but also directly affects levels of good cholesterol that protect your heart health in your body.
Helps Protect Against Cancer
Research suggests that consumption of high amount of carotenoid-containing fruit vegetables may be protective due to cancer recurrence.
Studies show that these antioxidants can combat leukemia cells and play a role in reducing risk of the most common types of cancer, including ovarian cancer and breast cancer.
A study of 200 ml of women with a history of breast cancer for three weeks observed effects of consuming fresh orange juice and carrot juice.
According to results, daily fresh carrot juice intake improved body’s defenses against cancer and had positive effects on increase of protective antioxidant carotenoid levels in blood.
This reduced oxidation stress and inflammation; thus, both proved to provide protection against cancer development.
Important In Oral Health Care
Carrot foods help fight body’s ability to fight bacteria and oral toxins and teeth to fight toxins to help improve immunity. Some minerals in carrots can be antibacterial and can prevent tooth decay. Carrot can also help remove plaque and stains from teeth if they are eaten after meals.
The fiber in carrots acts as a natural digestive system brush by removing unwanted bacteria in gut and by promoting better digestion of immune-enhancing nutrients.
Improves Skin Health And Plays a Role In Healing Of Wounds
Beta Carotene is critical for all types of wound healing. Carrots are used as a hygiene medication to help heal wounds for centuries because of their high Beta Carotene content.
If you have infection, cuts or other wounds on skin, you will see that carrot and carrot juice can help your skin become healthier by improving your ability to heal faster and combat infection and symptoms of marked skin inflammation.
Protects Brain Health And Cognitive Function
Carrot and carrot juice support brain health by helping to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, improve memory, and defend against other cognitive depressions. Reason for this is ability to reduce oxidative stress, which can weaken carrot’s nerve signal capacity.
Ways To Enjoy Carrots:
If you want to include carrots in your diet, we recommend that you eating in variety of ways to get the most benefit them.
- Raw: Fiber content in carrots can be higher in raw carrot because it is not broken down by cooking. Raw carrots can be a great snack, so pack a few in plastic bags when you’re going to work. You can consume as a snack at work.
- Cooked: Some research has found that cooked carrots may have higher antioxidant activity than raw carrots, as well as raw carrots used in carrot juice, as well as cooked carrot food. Balance carrot juice with other vegetable juices lower than carbohydrates. Add carrots to soup,or you can cook saute a carrot with coconut oil.
- Carrot Juice: Carrot juice is a great way to include carrots in your diet, but it is important to balance fruit juice well as by reducing fiber of carrots and increasing sugar content.
