Health benefits of Carrots – The Crunchy Powerful Vegetable ·

Health benefits of Carrots - Skin, eyes and overall health

Are you looking for foods that replace all your supplements for anti-ageing, beautiful skin and prevention of many diseases?  Well, your search will end at carrots only. There are so many health benefits of carrots that it will be utterly foolish to exclude this vegetable from your diet. This crunchy orange and red coloured vegetable is a powerhouse of many nutrients. The presence of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and iron adds up to the nutritional facts of carrots. Beta carotene, an anti-oxidant present in carrot is responsible for the typical orange colour of the carrots. This Beta-carotene gets absorbed by the intestine, gets converted into Vitamin A during the process of digestion. Apart from one of the richest sources of Vitamin A; carrots nutrition value is also made up of potassium, Vitamin E, fibre, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, zinc and folate. From countless health benefits of carrots, a few are discussed below:

1.     Carrots are best for improving vision: eating carrots for healthy eyes is age-old advice. Carrots provide up to twice the Vitamin A requirement that a human body needs daily. Thus, it is best for keeping healthy eyes. Vitamin A gets converted into rhodopsin in the retina which aids in night vision. Beta-carotene also helps in lowering the risk of macular degeneration of eyes and also of senile cataracts.

2.     Carrot acts as antiseptic: carrots can be used as antiseptic for cuts and burns. Just cut or shred the carrots and apply them to the cuts to keep the infections away. Boiled carrots can also be used for this purpose.

3.     Carrots help in preventing cancer: nutrition facts of carrots also include the presence of the compound falcarinol. Falcarinol has the properties to fight against cancer. Thus carrots are associated with the fact that they lower the risk of various cancers like colon, lung and breast cancers. Also, the powerful anti-oxidants present in carrot-like beta-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein work towards reducing the cancer-causing probability by limiting the damage to the healthy cells of the body.

4.     Carrots for keeping the glow of the skin: if you want to keep looking young and to maintain the glow of the skin, including carrot nutrition in your diet. The anti-oxidants present in carrots protects the cells from the damage caused by the free radicals present in the body and thus, gives you healthy glowing skin. Deficiencies of Vitamin A also lead to dryness of skin and damaged hair. Vitamin A also helps in preventing acne, skin pigmentation, blemishes and premature wrinkles.

5.     Carrots are good for the heart health: carotenoid, present richly in carrots reduce the risk of catching heart diseases. Since carrots also contain soluble fibres, they help in lowering the cholesterol level in the body.

6.     Cleanse the body: carrots help to flush out the toxins from the body. Carrots help in reducing the fat and bile in the liver. Also, the soluble fibres present in carrots improve the process of digestion.

7.     Eating carrots for healthy gums and teeth: crunchy carrots help in maintaining a healthy smile. Chewing carrots help in getting rid of the tooth plaque and the food particles stuck in between the teeth. Eating carrots also stimulates the gum, triggering saliva production. Since salvia is alkaline in nature, it kills the bacteria in the mouth.

There are more than a hundred species of carrots grown all over the world. Ranging in different sizes there are many colours of carrots – red, orange, yellow, purple and blue carrots. Carrots can be eaten raw, boiled and by cooking. Cooking carrots in some delicious dishes increase their appeal to children who may not like to chew them raw. Carrots can be included in any meal, ranging from stuffing in a sandwich, salad toppings, and your main course dish or even in your desserts. If you are a carrot fan, you can also preserve them as freeze carrots.