Discover a bunch of crunchy health benefits of carrots

There are lots of health benefits of carrots! Wild carrots have been with us for millennia in all different shapes and sizes. However, 400 years ago orange carrots were bred and popularised to create the carrot we know and love today that you can find in a supermarket.

However, the heirloom varieties of carrots seem to be richer in nutrition than our orange friends. In fact purple carrots also have powerful health benefits due to their anthocyanin content (a compound that’s been shown to fight cancer) so try and find local vegetable growers so you can enjoy these  purple eye catching alternatives.

 

Besides their great taste, carrots come with a whole host of benefits, for example, the pigment in orange carrots, beta-carotenes get converted by our bodies into Vitamin A.

Hungry to find out more?

Here’s a little summary of the benefits of carrots:

  • As a rich source of beta-carotene carrots protect against cancer, heart disease and of course promote eye health so that we can see in the dark!
  • Beta-carotene is also great for the skin, to protect against acne. Carrots are also high in silicon, a mineral, that strengthens your hair, skin and nails.
  • Carrots have also been used to protect against heartburn, calm diarrhoea, dissolve stones and tumours and even kill worms!

 

So how do we use them?

  • Cook your carrots to release these amazing beta-carotenes! Ideally cooking them whole preserves these amazing benefits
  • Grated carrots have been used to kill worms and parasites and you can use them as a poultice (applied directly to the skin) to reduce skin growth and inflammation.
  • Juicing carrots and including the green tops is a great way to make a vegetable juice that is rich in minerals and also not as sweet as have the carrot root alone!
  • Finally, eat your carrots with some form of healthy fat (like aioli 🙂) to ensure you can absorb all the beta-carotene which is a fat-soluble nutrient.

And keep the skin on! It’s so good for you.

If you’d like to learn more about getting the most out of your food, I would recommend reading ‘Eating on the Wild Side’ by Jo Robinson which provides advice on how to buy, prepare and store fruits and veggies to get the highest nutritional content