Carrots are a common vegetable, but many people do not know that they can also eat carrot greens, too. You may also hear the greens referred to as carrot tops, as they are the same part of the carrot. The vegetable and the carrot tops together offer many health benefits, making them a great option to add to your diet.
This vegetable is delicious, crunchy, and full of nutrients and vitamins. They’re the perfect vegetable to pair with any meal or to eat as a snack. You can use the carrot tops to make broth and many other delicious meals.
The possibilities with carrots are endless, as are the health benefits. You can’t go wrong with this vegetable, and you’ll never run out of ideas for how to eat them.
Since it can be challenging to add new foods to your diet, there are tips for how to eat them, too. Once you’ve read the health benefits, you’ll then learn how to clean the greens and easy ways to eat them.
15 Amazing Benefits of Carrots
Here are some compelling arguments for adding carrots to the menu today.
1. Contributes to Heart Health and Lowers Cholesterol
The high nutrient content in this vegetable promotes heart health in a couple of ways. First, they contain calcium, which can help remove LDL cholesterol. This type of cholesterol is considered bad cholesterol.
This vegetable also contains high amounts of fiber, which also helps remove LDL cholesterol from your body. If bad cholesterol isn’t dealt with, it can build up on the walls of your arteries and blood vessels. When this happens, it causes severe heart disease.
2. Promotes Eye Health
If you have poor eyesight, this food can help improve it. On the other hand, if your vision is perfect, eating them can help keep it that way. This is because this vegetable contains high amounts of lutein, lycopene, and Vitamin A.
Both lutein and lycopene boost eyesight and improve your night vision. Vitamin A contributes to promoting or maintaining eyesight. With the three of them together in such high amounts, adding this to your diet will significantly help.
3. Reduces the Risk of Cancer
The carotenoids found in this vegetable can help protect you from cancers such as prostate, colon, and stomach cancer. Carotenoids are an antioxidant that can also help protect you from breast cancer.
Anthocyanins, another antioxidant found in the vegetable, can also help prevent cancer. They fight free radicals, which are a massive contributor to the development of cancer.
4. Contributes to Oral Health
Since this vegetable contains high amounts of keratin and Vitamin A, it can help promote oral health. These nutrients can fight plaque and strengthen your tooth enamel. Another way it helps is that this vegetable can also act as a natural toothbrush if you have forgotten yours.
5. Aids with Flushing out Toxins
This vegetable contains properties that reduce the amount of fat and bile found in the liver. By reducing the amount, your liver will be able to function better, which can improve your overall health.
6. Helps with Digestion
This vegetable promotes regular bowel activity and helps with digestion. By adding this to your diet, you’ll be increasing your intake of dietary fiber. It helps make stool bulky, which helps it pass more smoothly through your digestive system, preventing constipation.
7. Aids in Weight Loss or Weight Maintenance
This vegetable is full of water, with water making up about 88% of the content. Paired with the fiber, the water content will make you feel full for a longer time. Additionally, this vegetable is low in calories.
With all of those benefits, it’s easy to see why this food helps with weight loss. It can also help you maintain your weight if you aren’t looking to gain or lose.
8. Regulates Blood Pressure
As mentioned before, this vegetable contains nutrients that help reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in your body. By doing this, your blood will be able to flow more regularly, helping to lower your blood pressure.
They also contain high amounts of potassium, which helps relax tension in blood vessels and arteries. This improves blood flow and circulation, which can help lower high blood pressure.
Elevated blood pressure can cause diseases such as strokes, heart attacks, atherosclerosis, and other serious conditions. So, try to increase the amount you consume so that you can avoid these deadly health issues.
9. Supports Bone Health
The vitamins K1 and A, the potassium, and the calcium found in this vegetable can improve bone mass. These nutrients can prevent the breakdown of bones, as well, preventing osteoporosis. The earlier you begin adding these to your diet, the more beneficial the bone support will be.
10. Contributes to Brain Health
With natural anti-inflammatory properties and vitamins K and B, this vegetable can help with brain health. Vitamins K and B, both help with energy production, giving you a clearer mind. This boost in energy will also help you focus.
Another nutrient found in this vegetable that contributes to brain health is luteolin. This nutrient can help reduce short memory issues and aggravation of the mind. You’ll find a boost to your memory, and you will also lessen your chances of developing dementia.
11. Keeps Skin Healthy
Eating this vegetable can help keep your skin radiant and blemish-free. This is thanks to the beta carotene, lutein, and lycopene that this vegetable contains.
Furthermore, carrot greens contain a large amount of silicon, which also promotes healthy nails and skin. You’ll get the most of these nutrients if you eat them raw.
Another health benefit is that this vegetable can protect your skin from the sun. This is due to the beta carotene content. Beta carotene repairs skin tissues and protects your skin from UV radiation. And it is also what gives the vegetable it’s orange color.
12. Reduces Menstrual Cramps and Stomach Problems
If you’re a female and suffer from menstrual cramps, you’ll be happy to hear this. The vegetable regularizes your bloodstream and makes the pains weaker due to the iron and beta-carotene.
You’ll also get a boost of energy during your menstrual cycle if you increase your intake of this vegetable. Many women experience fatigue during this time, so it’s important to feel energized.
In the same way that it helps with the menstrual cycle, this vegetable can help with stomach problems, too. It eases stomach cramps and other stomach pain. You’ll also notice that your stomach can handle certain foods better.
13. Contributes to Gut Health
Fiber plays a significant role in gut health because it cleans up your gastrointestinal tract. As it goes through your system, it picks up things that shouldn’t be there. This can prevent illness and disease and contributes to your overall health.
14. Boosts Immune System
Many of the vitamins and nutrients found can boost your immune system. These nutrients include vitamins B6 and K, potassium, and phosphorous.
The antioxidants found in this vegetable can also protect you from free radicals, which damage the body. Antioxidants also protect your body from harmful bacteria, viruses, and inflammation.
15. Helps Control or Prevent Diabetes
According to the National Institutes of Health, the fiber content helps with blood glucose levels in the body. Fiber can also promote insulin resistance and sensitivity. The alpha and beta carotene content further helps with diabetes, as it lessens your risk of developing the disease.
Easy Ways to Eat Carrots
-Boiled or raw as a snack
-As a healthy side dish
-Juiced
-In carrot cake
-Dice them up and put them on a salad
-Put the diced vegetable in your soups or stews
Carrot Greens
Before eating or cooking with this part, make sure to wash them really thoroughly. They are filled with dirt and sand, and you’ll definitely want to skip that part. Once they are washed, you can use the carrot tops in many ways.
How to Wash the Greens
It is easy to wash them, but it’s essential first to learn how. You’ll start by trimming the stems and leaves. Make sure to leave 2-inches of the stem when you cut them, to ensure getting the best part.
Then, you’ll wash them like you would rinse leaves for a salad. If you have a salad spinner, you can dry them in that.
How to Eat Carrotgreens
-Use it to make pesto
-Make broth for soup
-Use them as an ingredient in veggie burgers
-Add them to a salad
-Use them in smoothies
-Add them as a garnish
Final Thoughts on Amazing Benefits of Carrots (and carrot greens)
These health benefits of carrots are sure to help you live a healthier lifestyle. From preventing diseases to easing current health issues, you’ll get plenty of help from this vegetable.
While it may seem unusual to eat greens if you haven’t before, they contain many of the nutrients. They’re delicious and can be a great addition to the meals you already make. If you’re one who doesn’t like to waste food, you have all the more reason to try them and experiment with them.
With the endless health benefits and the many ways to eat them, carrots should be a staple in your diet. Find your favorite ways to eat them, and make sure to incorporate them often.
