Exactly in the eye
This vitamin in carrots is not at all. But at the same time for the view of these "roots" really super useful, only for some other reason. Carrots treat not only “night blindness” - a reduction in vision in the dark time of day caused by a deficiency of vitamin A (this was exactly what was said in Soviet schools). She also warns of the most terrible and irreversible loss of vision. They call this disease three letters - AMD, which can be interpreted as age-related macular degeneration. It is surprising that little is known about this disease, because it happens more often than cataract and glaucoma combined, plus AMD, is the main cause of blindness in the world.
On the retina there is a small yellow spot (macula) of only 1.5 mm in size, but it is the most important thing - the rays going through the pupil converge in it, and from here along the optic nerve this information goes to the brain. The rest of the retina is secondary, it is responsible for peripheral vision. Degeneration of this spot is almost impossible to treat, but it can be prevented. And a cheap carrot can play a major role in this, because there are many special substances in it that protect the macula. These are lutein and zeaxanthin, they add a yellow color to the spot. In addition to carrots, they are only in the yolk of the egg and in several more expensive vegetables and greens.
How does a carrot protect against night blindness if it does not contain vitamin A? Very simple. She is the champion of alpha and beta carotene. Some of these substances in the body just turns into vitamin A. At the same time 100 g of carrots can provide more than three daily norms of this vitamin. And this way of getting it safer. So surely there will be an overdose of vitamin A, which is easily achievable if you take it already in finished form (in vitamin preparations, fish oil). This is especially scary for pregnant women, the likelihood of developing congenital deformities in a child increases dramatically.
In addition, both carotene are very important in their own right. Being powerful antioxidants, they prevent the development of cataracts. But at the same time they also protect against cancer (especially lung), cardiovascular diseases, aging and many other health problems. All this has been repeatedly proven in large-scale and serious scientific research.
Anti-cancer Kitchen
Recently, new substances with a strong anti-cancer effect have been found in the carrot. This is falcarinol and falcarindiol, with their help carrots are protected from fungi. And in the human body, they prevent the development of cancers and polyps in the large intestine. Last year, Danish scientists even experimentally proved that these substances can neutralize carcinogens that were injected directly into the colon in rats, thereby reducing the likelihood of developing cancer 3 times.
But all these beneficial effects are possible only if the carrots are properly cooked. Many people know that it should not nibble, and grate and flavor with vegetable oil or sour cream. After all, all the beneficial substances of carrots are fat soluble, and this increases their absorption.
But there is a better way to cook the whole carrot. The effectiveness of this method was proved in an experiment by scientists from the University of Newcastle (England). When carrots were cut into cups, as they usually do when preparing soup or side dishes, there were 25% less falkarinol and other substances in it than in the whole.
In addition, a boiled carrot is healthier than raw. Despite the fact that when cooking nutrients may be a little less, our body will get more of them. The paradox is simply explained: a softened carrot gives away all the usefulness more easily, and their assimilation becomes much better and fuller than that of a raw vegetable.
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