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The carrot is one type of root vegetables which is considered to be nutritious and good for health. Generally, it is orange in color and purple, red, white, or yellow varieties are also available. Many people are unfamiliar to the purple carrot; its roots date back 5,000 years ago in the area now known as Afghanistan. Although the purple carrot may be the precursor in the carrot world, it is still widely undervalued. This is a disgrace as this darker colored carrot is highly nutritious and promotes many healthy benefits to consumers. Also, it is widely flattering more popular as substitute for chemical and synthetic coloring as the purple of this carrot makes a natural dye product.

Purple carrot is indigenous to North Africa and this exotic relative of the conventional carrot is a very interesting variety because of its high anthocyanin content which is responsible for the dark color of the root. The red pigments in plants, anthocyanins belong to the secondary plant products, the flavonoids or polyphenols. Flavonoids do have powerful antioxidant properties and epidemiologic research has signified that there is a possible relationship between the intake of flavonoids and resistance to cardiovascular disease. The tap-root of this vegetable is a rich source of many different nutrients and the chemical known as beta-carotene makes it an important food source in fighting several health problems. Particularly, purple carrots have more added benefits than orange carrot.

In the West, generations of people have grown up believing that carrots are always orange but as long ago as 2000 BC temple drawings from Egypt demonstrate a plant believed to be a purple carrot. Also, it identified in the garden of the Egyptian King Merodach-Baladan in the eighth century BC. After potato, carrot is a second most popular vegetable. Hopefully, the purple color of carrot will influence children to consume more vegetables while parents can rest guaranteed that there is nothing synthetic about the carrots. The nutrients present in raw carrots are destroyed one time they are cooked and so raw carrots health benefits are much higher than cooked ones.

Nutritional data of purple carrot:

• Carbohydrates
• Sugars
• Dietary fiber
• Fat
• Protein
• Vitamins
  • Vitamin A
  • Thiamine (Vit. B1)
  • Riboflavin (Vit. B2)
  • Niacin (Vit. B3)
  • Vitamin B6
  • Folate (Vit. B9)
  • Vitamin C
• Minerals
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Sodium
  • Phosphorus

With above nutrients, it also contains anthrocyanins, pigments that are extremely effective antioxidants that destroy very harmful free radicals in the body and so much damage in bodies is prevented. These pigments also slow dangerous blood clots within the body and so safe guarding the heart further.

Health benefits of Purple Carrots:

Purple carrots have so many health benefits due to its nutritional facts. Cancer prevention and prevention of heart attacks are among the important health benefits of purple carrots.

Protection from Heart Diseases:

To prevent heart problems, the importance of carrot has been highlighted by doctors and research teams. Purple carrots are rich source of vitamin A which helps to boost the immune system. Also, it helps to prevent fat from clogging up arteries. People who have high risk of heart disease should be eating a serving of carrots every day. You will get extra benefits from carrots if you cooked them before eating.

Prevention of Cancer:

Carrots are good source of beta-carotenes and anticarinogens which have proven to decrease cancer risks. In purple carrots, the beta-carotenes are in fact double as compared to what you will find with other carrot varieties. They will even decrease the severity of an already found cancer or fight it by boosting the natural defense system of the body against cancers and blocking things like free radicals and other agents that might cause cancer. It is much simpler to prevent a cancer than to battle and the idea behind the intake of plenty of anticarcinogens is for prevention purposes. In fact, the carrot seed oil have anti-carcinogentic properties in curing cancers such as throat, mouth, stomach, liver, kidneys, lung and prostate.

The anti-cancer benefits of carrots are increased at least up to 25% if you boil the carrots without slicing them. Steaming or boiling carrots will also help to preserve the antioxidants in them and boost the beta-carotene levels. Free radicals are very dangerous for the body as they battle our DNA and cause cancer, heart disease, and an eye disorder called macular degeneration. Some studies have shown that the intake of carrot decreases colon cancer risk by 24%. Women who eat carrots are less prone to the development of breast cancer.

Prevention of Diabetes:

By inversely affecting insulin resistance, they help to reduce blood sugar levels. The carotenoids present in carrot are useful for the regulation of sugar levels in the blood.

Prevention of Strokes:

If carrots are included in the daily diet, the chances of a person suffering from strokes are reduced by 68%. Studies have shown that people who have high levels of beta carotenoids in the body have a greater chance of surviving strokes.

Reduces Macular Degeneration:

The beta-carotene content of carrots reduces the risk of macular degeneration by 40%. This disease affects the macula and is mostly found in elder or aging people.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effect:

Along with antioxidants, the phytochemicals found in purple carrots have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antimicrobial property and hence making them work to cleanse your system from the inside out. It provides anti-inflammatory effect by reducing allergic reactions and inflammation.

In weight loss:

Purple carrots have come a long way because they were originally acidic and bitter. Purple carrots are fat free, low in calories, high in fiber, loaded with vitamins and can fill you up. In fact, FDA has approved for growers to market carrots as having no fat, being low in saturated fat, high in Vitamin A, cholesterol free, low in sodium, and a great daily source of fiber. Thus, it helps in weight loss without any side effects. Consumption of one whole raw carrot provides enough Vitamin A for an entire day.

Other Health Benefits of Purple Carrots:

• They are great for outer beauty as they feed the body’s skin, hair and nails and contain a form of calcium that is more easily absorbed by our bodies.
• Also, they help in lowering high blood pressure as well as the level of cholesterol.
• The regular intake of carrots improves the quality of breast milk.
• In ancient times, the purple carrot was used as medicine to treat everything from dog bites to syphilis. The roots have been used to treat intestinal parasites, constipation, indigestion, and tonsil issues.
• Men supposed the carrot to be an aphrodisiac and used it to make women more pliable and men more passionate. Thus, it helps to overcome problems such as sexual dysfunction, and lower sexual drive.
• It also helps to overcome problems such as night blindness, long term cough, etc.
• Additionally, it also helps in strengthening the kidney.

It may be a little bit harder to find purple carrots than their orange cousins but their antioxidant power is value shopping around for. In the produce section of grocery store, you can look for rainbow packages of carrots. The United States has now caught on to how wonderful purple carrots are for them and so they may become easier to situate in stores. Daily drinking a glass of purple carrot juice in the morning may help to keep some fairly deadly conditions away.

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