What"s Up Carrot?
What's up Doc? I'm sure this brought a great picture of Bugs Bunny and his carrot.
I actually think this is a great message for kids, because no matter what trouble Bugs Bunny got into, eating his carrots gave him the energy and strength to get out of them.
The humble carrot comes in every color under the rainbow and in hundreds of different types.
Our standard orange carrots are very typical and easy to grow in our own backyard.
And you know that growing them ourselves makes an even healthier.
Although getting them from a local farmer is second best.
What's so great about eating carrots? If you take one little cup of carrots, and that's barely more than a handful, you get tons of vitamin A.
In fact, you get 600% the daily recommended dose.
And that's actually a good thing because most people are severely deficient in this vitamin.
One of the main reasons for that is because people are eating poor quality canned carrots and mass-produced carrots.
The methods required for canning and mass-producing carrots, like in factory farms, lowers the amount of vitamin A in the carrots.
That's why you'll note if you grow your own carrots they are so much more potent than the dried up store-bought ones.
Carrots should be moist with a slightly springy flesh.
You do want these carrots to be as pleasant as possible to eat.
That's because there are few vegetables that are better at protecting your heart than carrots.
A Netherlands' study showed that people who eat as little as the quarter cup of carrots a day had significant reductions in heart disease.
Those who ate a full cup had more than 10 times the protection.
This is one of the reasons why some scientists are studying beta-carotene's protection for heart disease.
The carotene molecule derives its name from the carrots.
The beta-carotene is not the only carotenoids in carrots.
There are dozens of other carotenoids and some are more potent than others.
There are also other antioxidants called polyacetylenes that make the natural Vitamin A molecules more potent, something you cannot get out of the supplements.
And speaking of supplements, there is a danger of taking vitamin A supplements into higher doses.
Many of these can cause carotoderma, or yellowing of the skin.
It's nearly impossible to get this by eating carrots.
And you definitely want eat your carrots.
But how you eat them is more important.
Boiling your carrots destroys most of the healthy properties.
The best way to eat them is raw or steamed.
This will keep them crisper and preserve the nutrients.
Try this recipe: steam carrots, pumpkin and sweet potatoes until they're soft, purée it in a blender with Italian seasonings and a little bit of chili powder and serve hot.
This makes for great wintertime meal.
It can also be served on ice over the summer.
I actually think this is a great message for kids, because no matter what trouble Bugs Bunny got into, eating his carrots gave him the energy and strength to get out of them.
The humble carrot comes in every color under the rainbow and in hundreds of different types.
Our standard orange carrots are very typical and easy to grow in our own backyard.
And you know that growing them ourselves makes an even healthier.
Although getting them from a local farmer is second best.
What's so great about eating carrots? If you take one little cup of carrots, and that's barely more than a handful, you get tons of vitamin A.
In fact, you get 600% the daily recommended dose.
And that's actually a good thing because most people are severely deficient in this vitamin.
One of the main reasons for that is because people are eating poor quality canned carrots and mass-produced carrots.
The methods required for canning and mass-producing carrots, like in factory farms, lowers the amount of vitamin A in the carrots.
That's why you'll note if you grow your own carrots they are so much more potent than the dried up store-bought ones.
Carrots should be moist with a slightly springy flesh.
You do want these carrots to be as pleasant as possible to eat.
That's because there are few vegetables that are better at protecting your heart than carrots.
A Netherlands' study showed that people who eat as little as the quarter cup of carrots a day had significant reductions in heart disease.
Those who ate a full cup had more than 10 times the protection.
This is one of the reasons why some scientists are studying beta-carotene's protection for heart disease.
The carotene molecule derives its name from the carrots.
The beta-carotene is not the only carotenoids in carrots.
There are dozens of other carotenoids and some are more potent than others.
There are also other antioxidants called polyacetylenes that make the natural Vitamin A molecules more potent, something you cannot get out of the supplements.
And speaking of supplements, there is a danger of taking vitamin A supplements into higher doses.
Many of these can cause carotoderma, or yellowing of the skin.
It's nearly impossible to get this by eating carrots.
And you definitely want eat your carrots.
But how you eat them is more important.
Boiling your carrots destroys most of the healthy properties.
The best way to eat them is raw or steamed.
This will keep them crisper and preserve the nutrients.
Try this recipe: steam carrots, pumpkin and sweet potatoes until they're soft, purée it in a blender with Italian seasonings and a little bit of chili powder and serve hot.
This makes for great wintertime meal.
It can also be served on ice over the summer.
