16/06/2014
CARROTS
Carrots are a root vegetable which is bright orange in color and has a sweet tasting juice. It is possible to make carrot juice by yourself at home if you own a juicer, but you can also find it ready-made at certain places such as juice bars or in some grocery stores. Carrot juice is very healthy and has a great deal of nutritional value.
Carrot Juice Nutritional Facts
1. Calories
A serving of carrot juice (one cup) has around 80 calories. For those who have the typical caloric intake of 2000 calories a day, this means that a cup of carrot juice will count for around 4 percent of your daily caloric intake. Because of this, carrot juice is an excellent alternative option for water as well as other juices. If you were to compare carrot juice to other options, the same amount of orange juice has 113 calories while tomato juice contains 50 calories.
2. Vitamins and Minerals
Each cup of carrot juice contains a great deal of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to ingest each day.
• Vitamin A. When you have a cup of carrot juice, you are consuming 340 percent of your daily recommended dose of vitamin A.
• Potassium. In addition to this vitamin, you will also get 18 percent of your recommended dose of potassium in addition to seven percent of your recommended daily value of iron.
• Vitamin C. Just 100g carrot juice can contain as much as 3 milligrams of vitamin C, a vitamin that is essential for the immune system.
• Vitamin E. You will also get 0.3 milligrams of vitamin E with each 100g, which is necessary for the synthesis of hormones and to maintain healthy cells.
• B Vitamins. Carrot juice is also an excellent source of several B vitamins. For 100g fresh carrot juice, it provides 0.01 milligrams of vitamin B1 which is necessary for the nervous system and brain to function properly. It also contains 0.02 milligrams of vitamin B2 which is required to maintain healthy vision and metabolism.
3. Macronutrients
Carrot juice is also an excellent source of healthy amounts of micronutrients.
• Fat. Fat is one of the macronutrients that it is easy to consume too much of and therefore it is good that carrot juice only contains 0.7 grams of fat for each serving of one cup of juice.
• Protein. MayoClinic suggests that between 10 and 35 percent of the daily caloric intake comes from protein with variations depending on individuals. With a protein content of 1.3 grams per serving, carrot juice provides a nice low amount.
• Carbs. Most daily meal plans should include between 225 and 325 grams of carbs and one serving of carrot juice will provide 18 grams of these.
Carrot Juice Benefits
A great deal of the carrot juice benefits come from its high carotenoid content.
1. Stimulate Appetite and Improve Digestion
When you have carrot juice around 20 minutes before eating a meal, it will serve to help stimulate your body’s secretion of the digestive juices, serving as a great appetizer.
The soluble fiber in carrots can benefit your digestive organs in many ways, thus promoting digestion.
Watch this video for a healthy recipe for carrot juice that promotes digestion:
2. Improve Eyesight
Most people are already aware that carrot juice improves eyesight but do not know how it does so. It is because carrots contain both beta-carotene and lutein, both of which are compounds which can be found concentrated in our retinas. These compounds protect vision, specifically night vision. The liver converts beta-carotene into vitamin A and then this compound goes to the retina and becomes rhodopsin, a substance necessary to healthy night-vision.
3. Prevent Cancer
Carrot juice contains high levels of carotenoids and these have been associated with a decrease of 20% for postmenopausal breast cancer. Some studies looking at the carrot juice benefits have also shown a 50% decrease in occurrence of the following cancers: larynx, colon, prostate, cervix and bladder. Other studies have shown similar results regarding lung cancer. Researchers believe these effects are due to the levels of xanthophylls, gamma-carotene, lycopene, lutein and alpha-carotene.
4. Regulate Blood Sugar
Researchers believe that carrots may also be able to help regulate your blood sugar. This is due to their high content of carotenoids, which have been inversely associated with blood sugar levels which are high.
5. Promote Lung Health
Carrot juice is great at promoting lung health including protecting the respiratory system from risks of infection and helping to counter the bad side effects associated with smoking. This is because carrot juice is very rich in vitamin A can help reduce the risk of emphysema which is one of the biggest risks for smokers.
6. Benefit Your Skin
When you have a vitamin A deficiency it can cause damage and dryness to your hair, nails and skin. Because of its high vitamin A content, carrot juice is able to help with psoriasis and other dry skin problems.
7. Enrich Lactation
Nursing mothers should also consider carrot juice benefits as it can help them enrich their milk. It can also help supply calcium during pregnancy. Carrot juice is also an excellent way to ensure an infant who is breastfeeding receives vitamin A.
8. Improve Liver Functions
One of the most useful methods for detoxing your liver is to have between 2 and 3 pints of carrot juice each day. This quantity may cause your skin to develop an orange hue due to the toxic bile that is being purged from your liver.
9. Other Benefits
Carrot juice can also help balance your blood acidity, help cleanse acne, fight anemia and help with atherosclerosis, asthma, cholesterol, congestion, constipation, ulcers and water retention.
Precaution
Carrots that are darker contain more carotene. Most people feel that carrot juice tastes surprisingly sweet and enjoyable and this is due to its high content of natural sugar. Because of this, diabetics should ask their doctors how much carrot juice is recommended in their diet..
