The Extreme Health Benefits Of Carrots

Learn the amazing health benefits of carrots. Check out the article we found over at Trinity’s Conscious Kitchen.

Its so easy to take carrots for granted. We all know that carrots are good for us; the carrot is arguably the most popular vegetable in the modern world, and it certainly does deserve a place in our daily cuisine. This article explores why. We’ll also bust a commonly held carrot myth or two along the way, whilst offering a delicious list of my favourite, easy, super-healthy recipe ideas, to inspire your carrot culinary adventures.

Carrots come in the orange, yellow, purple, white and red varieties, all with impressive health benefits. The original orange coloured carrots, with their sweet, earthy flavour, are thought to have come out of The Netherlands in the 16th century. These tasty root vegetables (along with parsnips, fennel, parsley, caraway and dill) belong to the Umbelliferae family (called so, because of the the umbrella-like flower clusters, that plants in this family produce).

Vitamin A and Beta-carotene

One medium sized carrot (about 75g) is said to give you a whopping 210% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for immune function, vision, reproduction, skin health and cellular communication. In the plant kingdom, carrots comes second only to sweet potatoes for their incredible vitamin A content. Carrots are an excellent source of provitamin A, containing the precursor to vitamin A in the form of  carotenoids. The main provitamin A caroteoid, is beta-carotene, although alpha-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin also play important roles. The body converts these elements into vitamin A, which is then metabolized into retinal and retinoic acid (the active forms of vitamin A) to support the vitamin’s important biological functions.

Antioxidant superstar

Antioxidants prevent cell damage from oxidative stress on the body. Carrots (of all varieties) contain very helpful levels of antioxidants, each with their own unique protective function. Beta-carotene is the most common, making an especially abundant appearance in orange carrots. You’ll also find antioxidants such as, alpha-carotene, lutein, caffeic acid, courmaric acid, ferulic acid and anthocyanindins in various admirable quantities in different varieties of carrots. What this impressive line up antioxidants really means, is that which ever variety of carrots you go for, you are giving yourself a super protective, antioxidant boost.

Are carrots good for eye health at all?

Super-vision may well be a myth, however, it is true that carrots can promote healthy eyes.

Various studies have also shown that eye deterioration due to vitamin A deficiency in developing countries can be rectified by vitamin A supplementation. In addition to that, vitamin A is known to be essential for vision function as a component of rhodopsin (a protein that absorbs light in the retinal receptors), and because it supports the functioning of the conjunctival membranes and cornea. There are lots of reasons to suggest that carrots do indeed support eye health.
Leukemia support

A study in 2011 showed that carrot extracts stopped the growth of leukemia cells, suggesting that carrot may be an excellent source of bioactive chemicals for the treatment of leukemia.

The importance of organic carrots and not peeling away the skins

Organic carrots almost always taste better than their non-organic cousins. They are richer in taste, nutrients and don’t come laden with harmful pesticides. The highest concentration of nutrients is found right under the skin, so just wash your carrots and leave the skins on. I always buy organic and never peel my carrots.

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Read full article: The Amazing Health Benefits of Carrots (With Delicious Recipes!)