Carrot Juice Benefits: From Antioxidants to Detox

Despite being overfed many people are clinically undernourished: lacking the essential nutrients required for optimal wellbeing.  Modern farming practices have demineralized the soil and we overcook our food and industrially process the nutrients right out of it.  The sheer volume of fruit and vegetables required to provide your body with sufficient nutrients can be overwhelming.  However, one simple alternative is juicing and one of the best ingredients is the humble carrot.

By juicing fruits and vegetables you obtain the highly nutritious elixir without the indigestible and bulky fiber.  Drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices provides the body vital nutrients, in the quantities needed to have a dramatic effect on physical and mental wellbeing.

Carrots are one of the most beneficial and versatile ingredients you can add into a fresh juice.  Their natural sweetness makes them especially tasty, extremely useful if you are new to juicing or trying to get your kids into it.  Packed full of health promoting nutrients, carrots do so much more than help you see in the dark.

A ROUND-UP OF CARROT JUICE BENEFITS

Benefit #1. Anti-oxidants

Carrots contain many phytonutrients which are natural anti-oxidants, which prevent the damage from dangerous oxidative free radicals
Free radicals have been linked to various diseases and premature aging
Phytonutrients are also known to prevent and even treat cancers

Benefit #2. Cleansing

Carrots detoxify the liver which has a positive effect on the skin
The natural cleansing effect keeps skin looking fresh and youthful
As a natural diuretic carrots help you flush out toxins
Fatty build-ups in the arteries are also broken down and cleared out

Benefit #3. Full of Vitamins

Pro-vitamin A, also called beta-carotene, gives carrots their orange color
Beta-carotene is considered an essential nutrient as the body cannot produce it
The liver converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A for use throughout the body
Vitamin A is especially beneficial for those struggling with blemished and a must-have for those juicing for acne
Carrots are also high in: Vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6

Benefit #4. Abundant in Essential Minerals

Carrots are a yummy source of essential minerals that support everything from bone health to cardiovascular health, like:
Calcium: keeps bones strong and heart muscle healthy
Phosphorus: makes skin softer and teeth stronger
Magnesium: helps you absorb nutrients and improves memory

Benefit #5. Health Promoting

As a natural anti-inflammatory carrots calm our overstressed immune systems
Carrots nourish white blood cells which form a vital part of our immune defenses
Pectin lowers cholesterol and supports ‘good’ bacteria residing in the colon
Carrots prevent the natural degeneration of the eye associated with old age

JUICING TIPS FOR CARROTS

Like many vegetables, a significant amount of the nutrients in carrots are found just underneath the skin, so don’t peel them. Simply clean them and chop to fit your juicer, the green tops can also be juiced so nothing is wasted. Since carrots grow directly in the soil they will readily absorb any added chemicals, so it is important to only use organic carrots.

When selecting your carrots smaller ones are sweeter, but avoid baby ones as they haven’t finished growing and developing yet.  The sweet flavor can be used to ‘disguise’ or compliment the taste of more bitter vegetables, making carrot juice an ideal base to work from. The darker the color the more beta-carotene carrots contain, so more Vitamin A can be produced by your liver.

There is a common misconception that if you drink too much carrot juice it will turn you orange, but this isn’t true. Carrots have such a powerful detoxifying effect on the liver that it can release a lot of toxins into the blood. Sometimes the body cannot flush these toxins out quickly enough via the usual route, the urine. The skin is therefore used as a secondary method to get rid of the toxins and can become discolored.  Drinking plenty of water will help flush out these toxins and remedy this temporary tinting!

Available on almost every continent, carrots have a long history of being used to promote health and support the body.  The latest scientific research suggests carrots protect us from cancer and other debilitating diseases.  Full of essential nutrients and with a sweet gentle flavor carrots are very popular with the health conscious consumer. Have you juiced a carrot today? Just like apples they will help keep the doctor away!

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Carrot Juice for Cancer

Drinking carrot juice is one of the best ways to prevent cancer or fight cancer. According to the "Antioxidant Miracle," carrot juice provides powerful antioxidants that support health and the immune system. Eating raw or cooked carrots are great ways to obtain vitamins, minerals and even fiber, yet it would be difficult to consume enough carrots in your daily routine to meet your body's cancer prevention needs. The juice from 1 lb. of raw carrots makes one glass of juice.

Nutrients

Carrots contain the cartenoid alpha carotene, beta-carotene and potent antioxidants. Recent studies published in the "Antioxidant Miracle," indicate that alpha carotene is a more potent cancer preventative and fighter than even beta-carotene. Carrots contain one of the few cartenoids with pro Vitamin A activity, which means that the body converts the beta-carotene into Vitamin A as needed. In addition, carrots contain calcium pectate, a source of soluble fiber, Vitamin B-complex, C, D, E and K, iron, calcium and phosphorous and manganese.

Preparation

Remove the tops from the carrots. Use organic carrots for juicing to ensure that you do not introduce pesticides into your juice. Wash the organic carrots before juicing, but do not peel them. If you do not use organic carrots, wash them using a vegetable wash solution to remove pesticides and scrape the peel, if desired, before juicing. The authors from "Juicing for Life, recommend preparing carrot juice to work in combinations with other nutrient-filled vegetables, to boost nutrients to fight cancer.

Tips

Serve your juice immediately after juicing. According to "Juicing for Life," that is when the juice is at its peak for flavor and antioxidants. If you cannot drink your juice immediately, cover the glass and refrigerate the juice so that it does not oxidize. Begin and end juicing with the softest vegetables or fruits. For example, to create an apple-carrot cocktail, begin with half of the apple, then add the carrots next and end with the remaining half of the apple.

Prevent Cancer

Since cancer is a complex disease, preventing what causes cancer is equally as complex. From research taken from the "Antioxidant Miracle," one of the best cancer preventative methods is to juice not only raw carrots, but carrots in combination with foods that have equal cancer fighting properties such as ginger root, garlic, apples, celery, green peppers, onion, spinach and parsley. For a cleansing carrot juice drink, add a ¼-inch of fresh ginger, one peeled raw beet and half of an apple.

Fight Cancer

Authors from "Prescription for Cooking," recommend creating carrot juice cocktails that are beneficial as cancer fighters. Add to your carrots juiced collard greens, kale, parsley and spinach for additional sources of cancer fighting beta-carotene. To add more Vitamin C in your diet, add kale, parsley, green pepper or broccoli with two carrots daily. Since juicers do not juice bananas, avoid adding them to the juicer. Carrots blend well with nearly every other fruit and are as delicious as they are refreshing.

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