Benefits Of Carrots
Benefits Of Carrots - More Than You Can Shake A Stick At
Nearly everyone knows some of the benefits of carrots, not the least of which is they are supposedly very good for your eyes. That is indeed true, but there are many other benefits as well. The carrot is somewhat of a superstar as far as nutrients is concerned, they are easy to grow, and very tasty. Even children who may not like their vegetables, seem to like carrots. Maybe Bugs Bunny has something to do with that.
Just a few words about the carrot plant itself, before we dive in to its benefits. The carrot is actually a biennial, though almost always grown as an annual by the home gardener. In fact, you may have wondered at one time or another just where carrot seeds come from. To get carrot seeds you have to let the plant grow for a second year, as it would be happy to do if not yanked from the ground. During the second year, the carrot plant blooms and produces seeds.
Getting back to the benefits of carrots, if you have a row or two of them in your garden, you might want to mark each row with a big letter "A". One cup of raw carrots, a little over 100 grams, will give you 6 times your daily requirement for vitamin A. You've heard of vitamin A, and likely also beta-carotene, known for promoting good vision, especially night vision. In addition to promoting good vision, beta-carotene, being a powerful antioxidant, protects against macular degeneration, an illness of the elderly, which can often lead to blindness.
What you may not have heard so much about are carotenoids. Carotenoids, beta-carotene, and vitamin A, are sort of all wrapped up together in the carrot. All three are good guys, very good guys. Diets high in carotenoids are associated with reducing a person's risk of heart disease. Carotenoids also appear to play a significant role in blood sugar regulation, helping to lower high blood sugar levels, and at the same time decreasing insulin resistance. Carotenoids also play a role in the battle against cancer. Eating a regular diet of carrots, one each day for example, is believed to significantly reduce the incidence of both breast and lung cancer, and cancers of the prostrate, colon and esophagus.
Besides helping prevent bad things from happening, the benefits of carrots also include promoting good health. In addition to vitamin A, the carrot is also a source of vitamins K, C, and B6. Carrots are the source of a number of the trace minerals essential to our health and well being, including potassium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, and magnesium. To top things off, it should also be noted that carrots are a source of fiber, which aids the gastrointestinal system, and folate, or folic acid, which among other things, benefits the heart.
After reading about all of these benefits of carrots, one can only come to the conclusion that Bugs Bunny is one healthy rabbit! Perhaps a role model for us all.