Health Benefits of Carrots for Cholesterol, Weight Loss and Diabetes

The health benefits of carrots do not only help our eyes but also help in cancer prevention, avoiding heart attacks and they lower your bad cholesterol. We eat carrots not just for the health benefits but also because they taste very good whether they are cooked or raw.

Carrots contain beta-carotene which becomes vitamin A after it is in your body and this helps improve your vision. The vitamin A will form a purple pigment called rhodopsin which is what your eyes need to be able to see in a dim light. If you do not get enough of this vitamin you could end up suffering from night blindness. Carrots also got their color and their name from beta-carotene.

The nutritional benefits of beta-carotene are the fact they are an anti-oxidant that fights the free radicals that can cause cancer, macular degeneration, and heart disease. Beta-carotene sometimes will deter cancers of the stomach, uterus, and cervix. There has been research done recently suggesting people who consume five or more carrots on a weekly basis are less likely to have a stroke than those who do not. Carrots have another anti-oxidant called alpha-carotene and a study showed men with high amounts of this anti-oxidant have a less chance of contracting lung cancer.

If you cook carrots slightly, you pull out the beta-carotene from the fiber which permits our bodies to absorb it easier. If you eat about a half-cup a day you will receive more beta-carotene than the daily recommended dosage. When you buy carrots with the tops still attached they must be removed before storage, if you do not the tops will swallow up all the vitamins. Your body can absorb the nutrients of carrot juice by adding them to a favorite blend of juice.

One carrot will give you all the vitamin A you will need for a day. The sugar that is contained in carrots turns into blood sugar quickly but the amount is very low and that is why diabetics (Read Diabetes home remedies) can still have them. They are the richest source of beta-carotene, which contributes to a lower risk for diabetes. Carrots health benefits is a great protection against cataracts and macular degeneration. Their soluble fiber is quite rich and helps lower levels of cholesterol.

The health benefits of raw carrots are they contain more vitamin C than cooked. The benefits of cooked carrots are the release of more beta-carotene. Either way you eat them will help benefit your body. The raw carrots can be placed in your salad and the cooked on your dinner plate and you will receive the benefits of both.

The high fiber content in carrots is very important if you want to lose weight. Fiber is not digestible and it just passes through with other food affixed to it. It will not stop the digestive system from trying; it simply produces more enzymes to break it down. This helps to speed up you metabolism. They are low in calories and fat, and high in nutrients which also include potassium. Carrot nutrients help the body perform smoothly and therefore burn calories.

Also Read Are Carrots Good For Losing Weight ?

By Barbara Volkov