A simple guide to lowering your health risks with carrots

Eating carrots is a delicious way to lower your health risks. Here's a simple guide to help you understand the health benefits of carrots.

• Carrots are our most abundant source of beta-carotene, a compound that can function as an antioxidant and can also be converted into vitamin A by the body. The more vivid the colour of the carrot, the higher the levels of this important carot­enoid.
• In 250 grams (one cup) of cooked carrots there are 70 calo­ries, four grams of fibre and about 18 milligrams of beta-carotene. This provides more than 100 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of vitamin A — a nutrient essential for healthy hair, skin, eyes, bones and mucous membranes. Vitamin A also helps prevent infections.
• A U.S. government study found that volunteers who ate about 250 grams (one cup) of carrots a day had an average 11 percent reduction in their blood cholesterol levels after only three weeks. Lowered cholesterol levels, in turn, decrease the risk of heart disease. The cholesterol-lowering effect is likely due to the high soluble-fibre content of carrots, mostly in the form of pectin.
• A deficiency of vitamin A can cause night blindness, an inability of the eyes to adjust to dim lighting or darkness. Vitamin A combines with thero­­tein opsin in the retina's rod cells to form rhodo­­­psin, which is needed for night vision.
• Eating one carrot every few days provides enough vitamin A to prevent or overcome night blindness, if this condition is caused by vitamin A deficiency.

• Interestingly, cook­ing actually increases carrots' nutritional value, because it breaks down the tough cellular walls that encase the beta-carotene. To properly absorb beta-carotene, the body needs a small amount of fat, because carotenoids are fat, not water-soluble. Adding a pat of butter or margarine to cooked carrots ensures that the body will fully utilize this nutrient.
• Cooked and pureed carrots are an ideal beginner food, as they are naturally sweet and high in nutrients.
• Carrots also contain other carotenoids, in­cluding alpha-carotene, as well as biofla­vo­noids.
• The beneficial effects of carrots may not be reproduced by taking isolated supplements. Indeed, a number of studies have shown that beta-carotene supplements may actually be harmful, particularly to smokers.
• This is not a problem with an excessive intake of carrots, but it can result in the skin taking on a yellow-orangish tinge. This harmless condition, called carotenemia, disappears in a few weeks of reducing carrot intake. If the yellow skin colour persists, or if the white portions of the eyes are also discoloured, the problem may be jaundice, a symptom of a liver disorder.

Naturally sweet, carrots make an ideal high-fibre, low-calorie snack food. Keep these tips in mind and add more carrots to your diet for healthy results.