Can Carrot Juice Help Prevent Cancer?

Carrots are a group of vegetables that come into a class of edibles that contain high amounts of anti-oxidants. All fruits and vegetables have certain amounts of these anti-oxidants but those that have the most are the dark red, purple, orange and green colors; the lighter the food color the less anti-oxidants, with the white colored products having a lower amount. Some carrots have a high color ranging from a very deep purple to an almost reddish orange, so there are many benefits from carrot juice of this color. It is now known that anti-oxidants play an important role in the control of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are atoms with odd numbers of unpaired electrons which can cause damage to DNA and cell membranes when they react with these importance cellular tissues causing the death of these cells or their poor function. Anti-oxidant molecules act as a defense system causing an end to the chain reaction of free radicals before they are able to damage essential DNA and other cell membrane molecules.

Carrots also contain many other nutrients that are vital to the well being of the human body. The benefits of carrot juice are that it contains high levels of Beta carotene, good levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin E, Potassium, moderate levels of Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid or Folate, Manganese, and smaller amounts of many other vitamins and minerals. All the vitamins and mineral contained in carrots are necessary for human health, but it is important that not just carrots be eaten in a diet but also many other fruits and vegetable of different colors and varieties so that a person gets a good coverage of the many nutrients that are used for the necessary everyday functions, maintenance, health and healing of the human body.

The highest nutrient in carrots is beta carotene which is converted to Vitamin A in the body, this also happens with many other types of green and colored vegetables that contain beta carotene. Carrot juice can help with the deficiencies that occur from a lack of Vitamin A. These can be mild or more severe and can come from a diet lacking in either Vitamin A or beta carotene, which can occur from problems such as the diseases of alcoholism, or where there is a digestive inability to absorb fat such as in celiac disease, cystic fibrosis and the bile flow interference disease cholestasis. The benefits of carrot juice can be many, from improving eyesight for vision in poor light, improving the immune system, restoring skin quality, helping to improve the development of a fertilized egg, but possibly the best effect of all is as an anti-oxidant that can act as a defender against free radicals which are cancer causing agents. As with all things, carrot juice also needs to be used in moderation, too much will cause the skin to turn an orange or yellow color, and a high consumption over an extended period taken with high levels of a Vitamin A supplement may cause liver damage.


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