Carrots have always been gorged up with gargantuan appetite and lauded forever for their immense storage of health in their many nutrients. But to discover that there is an International Carrot Day on the food horizon being celebrated for quite long- since 2003- is indeed some kind of a pleasant surprise. Given how this particular veggie does not generally arouse the adverse reactions associated with others of its clan, it’s only apt that this versatile vegetable should have its own day of celebration.
Carrots make for a great many interesting platter options in themselves. From eating them raw just like that to crunching some fancy dipped carrot sticks or tossing them in a salad to making soups and stews out of them, adding a few slices into your plain dal or mixed sabzi or incorporating them as an essential element of your veg pulao or desi fried rice, or even making desserts out of them- be it the delectable winter specialty gajar ka halwa or a refreshingly wholesome carrot cake, the wonder veggie will devise a way to not stay put in your pantry!
And it helps too that carrots can be interpreted in such diverse forms since they are one extremely nutritious food. From helping with your health to your beauty, these bright, glowing veggies are generous enough to let you partake of their characteristic radiance if you indeed eat them right. Here are the many benefits that consuming carrots regularly will abundantly endow you with-
Healthy Vision
Source: The Indian Express
All of us have been coaxed into eating carrots as kids because of how beneficial they happen to be for the eyes. The ample beta carotene content of carrots is what makes them so essential for a healthy vision. In fact it is the presence of beta carotenes that makes carrot so lusciously orange in color, though there exists black, red, yellow or purple variants as well.
Beta carotenes act by going into your body to the liver which converts it to vitamin A, which is exactly what your eyes need. Also with alpha carotene and antioxidants like lutein, carrots help not just with proper eyesight but also with overall eye health. Protecting the retina and lens of the eyes as well as not allowing macular degeneration and senile catracts to develop, while also treating conditions like night blindness, feeding yourself more carrots is all you need to do to show your eyes that you care.
Helps in Weight Loss
Source: Vitagene
While carrots are an exemplary diet snack all right, they also do more for your body than just not letting you go fat. The high 86% water content of carrots automatically makes them a smart diet choice. But what even amps up that inclusion is their lower hoarding of fats and calories and the high amount of fiber. This means that eating carrots will leave you satiated so that you don’t need to satisfy your hunger pangs every now and then. Additionally, researches have found that the soluble fiber in carrots can also be effective in cutting down all that fat and flab around the belly. Now this is one loss we sure would not be shedding any tears on!
Aids Digestive Health
Source: Healthline
With so much fiber in tow, it needs no reiteration how carrots can help with digestion. The insoluble fibers of this vegetable acts well in ensuring regular bowel movement thereby putting constipation issues at bay. Not just that, carrots also endow another benefit as far as eliminating toxins are concerned. The vitamin A content of carrots helps your liver in eradicating wastes from the body while reducing the amounts of harmful bile and fat within so that you undergo a natural body cleansing ritual every single day.
Corrodes Cancer Cells
Source: SteemKR
Carrots can act towards inhibiting cancer cells under influence of the carotenoids they are so amply abundant it. The alpha and beta carotenes of carrots as well as their numerous other phytochemicals exhibit anti cancer properties which means that can ward off carcinogenic cells from developing further. These two compounds are some of the most powerful natural antioxidants ever, that protects the human body from oxygen-derived free radicals, which are responsible for the formation of cancerous cells.
In fact, the polyacetylene antioxidant called falcarinol that carrots contain also have been found to be helpful in destroying cancerous cells in the tumors. While carrots are sworn upon by health enthusiasts as stavers of cancer risks related to the stomach, prostate, colon, lung and breast, carrot juice is also found to be particularly effective against leukemia or blood cancer as well.
Nourishes Hair
Source: Popsugar
A storehouse of abundant nutrients, vitamins and minerals, carrots do you well by not just letting you enjoy the pink of health but also the best of black beauty. The Vitamin A and E content of this gorgeous veggie helps in boosting blood circulation to your scalp that contributes to hair health. From promoting growth of thicker, luxurious hair to preventing premature aging and also warding off hair fall or hair loss, the nutrient rich carrots act well through their many components to ensure that your hair shines in all their black, powerful might.
Boosts Immunity
Source: BENEFITS PLANET
Because a weak immunity translates to a weak individual, carrots act on getting you healthier and stronger by working up your immune system. The Vitamin A and C content of carrots, as well as it many other nutrients and antioxidants protects the body from many bacterial and viral infections. Antioxidants helps the body fight against inflammation and thereby strengthens your immunity. Additionally by making your body lesser susceptible to a host of other health problems and ailments, carrots work extremely assertively in giving your immune system a boost.
Good for diabetics
Source: Bentham Science – WordPress.com
Even as an underground veggie with ample sweetness, carrots are pretty well suited to the needs of people with high blood sugar. The soluble fibers of carrots helps keep blood sugar levels in check by slowing down the digestion of sugar and starch. The antioxidants and phytochemicals of this nutrient dense food also helps out balance the sugar levels of the body. A low calorie, high fiber vegetable that scores low on the glycemic index, carrots are not just helpful for diabetics; the regular intake of raw or slightly cooked carrots can even prevent the lifestyle disease from setting in altogether. Along with other elements, the dominant vitamin A encompassment of carrots also make them a diabetic friendly snack to chomp on.
Regulates Blood Pressure
Source: GreenBlender
Carrots help in regulating your blood pressure levels due to its potassium content that helps in a better circulation of blood and therefore maintains a regulated pressure of the same. By balancing sodium levels, carrots effectively manages the blood pressure while also lending a bonus effect- its sodium neutralising properties can help you de- bloat if you have happened to consume excess of some salty food. Blood pressure levels of the body are also regulated by carrots on account of the presence of other nutrients and compounds like fiber, nitrates and vitamin C.
Helps with a Healthy Heart
Source: Well-Being Secrets
By helping keep your blood pressure at normal range, carrots automatically does a world of wonder for your heart. Additionally, the high fibrous essence of these vegetables work to remove excess bad cholesterol from your heart, leaving it at lower risk of strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. The many antioxidants and lycopene of carrots also work well to help prevent heart disease and keep heart healthy and beating.
Sheens up Skin
Carrots spells way more benefits for your skin than you would have ever imagined. While the carotenoids of carrots helps in skin retaining its youthful suppleness, the beta carotenes makes sure that even the look of your skin translates that young and improved health in the perfect spirits. Also as a treasure trove of Vitamin A, including carrots in our regular diet means that we are warding off such skin related disorders like wrinkles, acnes, dryness and flakiness. Specially drinking the juice of carrots with all their potassium content intact will help your skin retain that moisturised glow by keeping you adequately hydrated.
Its age reversing impacts apart however, carrots are also brilliant in protecting your delicate skin from too much exposure to the harsh radiation of the sun. It is once again the beta carotenes at play that your body converts to Vitamin A to reverse the harsh effects of too much sun exposure by repairing skin tissues. Not to mention the glow that carrots endow your skin with, this super veggie also can reduce the look of oily skin and prevent breakouts and eradicate scars. What’s more you can even use carrots as a face mask to let your skin derive all required nutrients from it!
Strengthens Bones
A lesser know benefit attributed to carrots is their impact upon bone strength. The small amounts of calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin K of carrots means they help also with bone health while the Vitamin A content influences bone cell metabolism for the same effect.
Acts as an antiseptic
The Vitamin K content of carrots also helps with blood coagulation that sets off the process of healing of wounds. While Vitamin C boost the production of collagen that is also as essential for wound healing. In its myriad benefits of wound healing and immunity boosting, carrots can work wonders as an antiseptic as well.
Promotes oral health and hygiene
Carrots don’t just promote healthy teeth, they also lead to better oral hygiene. The minerals of carrots prevent teeth damage while it stimulates production of saliva inside the mouth that helps in warding off cavities and plaque. Keratin and Vitamin A help strengthen delicate tooth enamel while munching on a raw carrot strengthens and cleans your teeth. Carrots also supposedly freshen breath by neutralizing the citric and malic acids usually left behind in the mouth, thus contributing to oral hygiene.
