Carrots, a favorite snack food, especially when paired with a variety of dips and sauces, are sweet, but are also healthy. As a result of having the highest vitamin A content of any vegetable known to man, carrots encourage good eyesight.
This is because the vitamin A gets converted into a chemical called rhodopsin, which is a purples pigment that is key to vision, particularly night vision. Carrots are packed with carotenoids, a group of natural fat-soluble pigments located primarily in plants. One study showed that a daily intake of carotenoid-rich foods, such as carrots or squash, resulted in a 60% reduction in risk of heart attack compared to those without this daily intake.
This is an astounding finding that you would be remiss to ignore. In addition, a national cancer institute study revealed that men had an increased incidence rate of lung cancer when they did not consume a particular type of beta-carotene, called the alpha-carotene, contained in carrots.
In fact, arrays of human studies have shown that perhaps even a single carrot a day, "could conceivably cut the rate of lung cancer in half."1 Furthermore, the results of a daily carrot diet intake have also been shown to reduce the risk of cancers in the bladder, cervix, prostate, colon, larynx, and esophagus too.
Other than dipping into ranch dressing, how does one go about eating carrots? One can steam them with a variety of other veggies such as asparagus and then sauté them in warm butter and garlic sauce for a great side dish or snack. They are of course nice additions to any salad because they add a crunch and sweetness few other food items can offer.
You can also toss carrots into a blender with soy milk and bananas for a surprisingly refreshing shake that is the way to start off your day. Spicy carrot sticks make a great party snack. To make those all your have to do is boil the carrots till they are noticeably soft and dose them in a variety of cayenne and chili pepper spices.
