Carrot - The root for health!

Sweet, delicious and healthy. A root vegetable that adds crunch, colour and fibre to the diet. Eaten fresh or cooked, this nutritious food is exceptionally rich in Vitamins providing very low calories and almost no fat.

Although we get to see mostly orange carrots in the markets, purple, red, yellow and white varieties do exist. Most of the health benefits of carrots are attributed because of its high beta carotene and fibre value. Carrots are also a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B8, pantothenic acid, potassium, folate, iron, copper and manganese.

According to ayurvedic sources carrot's cool nature and mild bitter taste purifies the blood. Carrot has a cool and relaxing effect on the eyes. Beta-carotene, which gives carrots their bright orange color, is metabolized into vitamin A in the presence of bile salts in the small intestine. Vitamin A nourishes the liver, and purifies the blood. These actions improve vision, complexion of the skin, and generally reduce inflammation. Carrot helps make the skin noticeably softer, smoother, and firmer. Carrots increase the quality of the breast milk. During pregnancy, carrots reduce the risk of jaundice and enhance baby's complexion. 

Health benefits:

1. Improves Eyesight: Deficiency of Vitamin A causes night blindness or the inability to see in dim light. Carrots being a rich source of beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin prevent these conditions including cataract.
2. Digestion: Carrots like most other vegetables give good amount of fibre to the diet which bulks the stool and acts as a laxative. It stimulates peristaltic movement and secretion of gastric juices.
3. Diabetes: Despite its sweetness and natural sugars, carrots stabilize blood sugar because of the presence of carotenoids. Carotenoids inversely affect insulin resistance and help lower blood sugar. 
4. Cancer: Antioxidants and beta carotene present in carrots play a role in cancer prevention.
5. Carrots have numerous other benefits associated with it like;  prevention of heart diseases, reducing blood pressure, lowering risk of stroke, preventing cancer, boosting the immune system, increasing the rate of fertility, nourishing the skin and the pregnant lady.

Keep in mind the nutritional values of vegetables change if eaten raw or cooked and also depend on the different methods of cooking. For example, boiling the carrot and draining the water may cause loss of vitamin C and folate while on the other hand research has shown that cooked carrots have more amounts of antioxidants compared to raw.

A bowl of warm carrot soup, a plate of fresh carrot salad, carrot into vegetable curries, carrot halwa or pickled carrots – blend in your diet the way you want - or freshly extracted carrot juice which can do wonders on the liver. Most diseases can be cured by improving the functioning of the liver. Fresh carrot juice is often compared to blood detoxification.

How would you use up your bag of carrot??

Also Read: Carrot Pudding/ Gajar ka Halwa, Carrot Cake and Carrot Pickle in The Kitchen Counter column.

Post by Zohra Sada