Health benefits of carrot juice

Carrot juice is an excellent nutritional health drink for dieters, providing you with a rich supply of essential vitamins and minerals and that too without being accompanied by all of the calories that a health shake might give you. Pure carrot juice is a very low calorie juice to drink, one ounce of beverage yields just 10 calories usually. 

You can dramatically increase the calories by blending the juice with rolled oats, cereal, or boiled rice if you are an athlete and need more calories you can blend it with fruit yogurt, milk, ice cream, or a protein powder supplement.

Carrot juice

Pure carrot juice in an eight ounce serving can provide up to 6% percent of your daily recommended intake level of calcium. It is very important to receive a healthy level of calcium in your daily diet. Bones and teeth are dependent on calcium for growth and formation, especially the skeletal structure and development of children. Calcium absorption should also be accompanied by vitamin D, which helps aid your body's intake of the mineral. Like potassium, calcium is important for neuro-transmition, and muscle movement and contraction. 

Vitamin A is very crucial for expectant mothers and the unborn fetus. Although vitamin A is very important for your body, eight ounces of carrot juice can contain as much as 800% of your daily recommended dosage of vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential and necessary for tissue growth, especially within the bones. Vitamin A is also very important in maintaining good vision. The old myth that eating carrots will help you see better is true, as vitamin A deficiencies can lead to vision problems such as night blindness. it is also important to maintain moderate levels of vitamin A intake, as too much can lead to liver toxicity, and other health problems.

 
Potassium deficiencies are very bad for your body, with such effects as Hypokalemia, acne, muscle spasms, dry skin, and elevated cholesterol levels. Carrots juiced with celery or turnips can provide your body with a large intake level of potassium. Carrot juice is an excellent drinkable source of potassium. Potassium is very important in helping to maintain a healthy electrolyte balance and fluid level in the cells of your body. It's also necessary in muscle movement, such as contraction, as well as neurotransmission. 

 
Carrot juice is also an excellent source of vitamin C. An eight ounce glass of pure carrot juice can provide your body with up to 35% of your daily recommended dosage of vitamin C. Vitamin C has a wide variety of uses throughout our entire body, such as collagen production of the mucous membranes, skin, bones, and teeth. Vitamin C is also a very crucial antioxidant.

 Health Benefits

Carrots are popular for its famous ingredient carotene's, it is an awesome anti-oxidant that has powerful healing virtues for many diseases. Drinking a glass of carrot juice daily will do much more for you than many bottles of supplement and tablets. Here are some disorders that can be helped by drinking carrot juice regularly: 

Acidosis: The vital organic alkaline elements in carrots help balance the blood acidity and blood sugar. 

Acne: Its powerful cleansing properties are effective in detoxifying the liver, thus overall effective for acne which are caused by toxicity of the blood.

Anemia: Carrot's molecules are closest to human's hemoglobin molecules, making it very beneficial in blood-building. 

Atherosclerosis: The highly cleansing power of this miracle juice scrubs away even the old build-up of arterial deposits, reducing the risks of heart diseases and stroke.

Asthma: The anti-oxidants effectively protects the respiratory system from infections and free-radical attacks.

Cancer: Studies show that adding one carrot per day in our diet significantly reduces cancer risks.

Cholesterol: Pectin in carrots lowers the serum cholesterol levels.

Congestion: Carrot juice is very effective in dispelling mucus from the ear, nose and throat area, easing nasal congestion, sinusitis, phlegm and mucus in the throat and other similar disorders.

Constipation: Take five parts of carrot juice with one part of spinach juice regularly toregulate chronic constipation problems. 

Emphysema: If you smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke, taking carrot juice regularly may well save your life.

Eyes: Beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin are some of the finest nourishment that help keep the optic system in tip-top condition, with special protection against astigmatism, macular degeneration and cataracts.

Fertility: One of the reasons for fertility is lack of nutrients and enzymes in your dietary. Carrot juice taken regularly, is able to nourish your body back to fertility.

Inflammations: Its anti-inflammatory effect greatly helps reduce arthritis, rheumatism, gout and other inflammations.

Immune systems: It does wonders for boosting the immune system by increasing the production and performance of white blood cells; building resistant to various kinds of infections.

Breast feeding mothers: Carrot juice helps enhance the quality and quantity of a mother's breast milk.

Pregnancy: Drinking carrot juice regularly during pregnancy, especially during the last few months, will reduce the chances of jaundice in baby. No, you won't get an orange baby!

Skin problems: The high quality vitamin C and other rich nutrients in carrot juice efficiently nourish the skin, preventing dry skin, psoriasis and other skin blemishes.

Thread worms: One small cup of carrot juice in the morning taken daily for a week can help clear up thread worms in children.

Ulcers: The abundance of nutrient present in carrots helps nourish cells that have been starved of nutrients which result in ulcers.

Water retention: Carrot juice is diuretic and helps to eliminate excess fluids from the body, reducing water retention, especially for women during their monthly menstruation cycle and in pregnant women.

Hints

Spinach is also a very rich source of Vitamin A. 
A little spinach juiced with a few carrots will deliver a vitamin A mega beverage.

A few carrots juiced with blackcurrant berries, oranges, lemons, or kiwi, can easily provide you with your whole daily vitamin C dosage, without the need to take synthetic vitamins supplements.

Carrots juiced with broccoli can provide an excellent vegetable calcium drink. For a calcium shake, you may also choose to juice your carrots and then blend it with yogurt for a carrot juice smoothie, which makes for a healthy breakfast shake, or evening dessert.

Please share how carrot juice benefited you in your life in comments section.

How to get daily recomended vitamins from food

How to eat your vitamins?

Getting your vitamins and minerals through diet is very easy but nobody's perfect when it comes to healthful eating. It can be particularly challenging to get the nutrients you need if you're dieting or if you avoid animal or dairy products. Pills might seem like an easy fix, but food provides an abundance of nutrients, as well as fiber, that pills lack, says Mary Ryan, a registered dietitian in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

healthy food

These nutrients are what keep your body functioning at its best?building strong bones; improving brainpower, mood, and memory; and possibly helping the immune system ward off ailments both small (a cold) and large (cancer).

"Vitamins should be used only as supplements to the diet, not substitutes for healthy food," says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of the antioxidant research lab at Tufts University, in Boston.While there are hundreds of nutrients, the following information explains the ones you need to consume every day, what they do, and how to get them from your diet.


Vitamin A - 700 mcg
Vitamin A is required for the proper function of your eyes, skin and immune system, as well as other body processes.  Animal based foods provide preformed Vitamin A which is absorbed as retinol, one of its most usable forms, while from fruits and vegetables, it�s called provitamin A carotenoid, of which beta-carotene is most efficiently converted to retinol. 

Eat It: One cup of cantaloupe, two cups of raw spinach, or one medium carrot raw will all get you over 100% of plant-based Vitamin A.  Of animal-based foods rich in Vitamin A, 3 ounces of chicken liver has about 245% of the daily value, while a cup of whole milk offers only about 5%.

Vitamin B6 - 1.3 mg
Vitamin B6 supports brain function, metabolism, and immune response.  It also plays a role in maintaining healthy blood glucose levels.  Vitamin B6 is commonly absorbed well by the body, but may be lost in processing such as cooking, storage or drying.  Plant foods lose the least during processing.

Eat It: One medium baked potato or a medium banana has about 35% of the daily recommended intake, while a � baked chicken breast or a � cup of canned garbanzo beans offers up about 30%. A � cup of avocado, or one ounce of roasted sunflower seeds or walnuts offer another 10%.

Vitamin B12 - 2.4 mcg
Vitamin B12 plays a role in protein synthesis and cell division, helping to keep nerve and blood cells healthy.  There�s a two step process in absorbing Vitamin B1: the stomach�s hydrochloric acid separates it from the protein it�s attached to, then attaches it to the stomach�s protein, intrinsic factor, to use it.  

Eat It: Found primarily in animal products, some vegetarians and vegans opt to use supplements or get it through fortified foods like breakfast cereals or nutritional yeast, many of which offer 100% daily value in one serving. For meat eaters, three ounces of trout or salmon has about 100%.  While a double patty cheeseburger or cup of plain yogurt offer up 35% and 23% respectively.  

Vitamin C - 75 mg
Vitamin C acts an antioxidant in the body, protecting our cells from damaging free radicals. It also helps make collagen, a protein tied to wound healing.  Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of Vitamin C of which 80 to 90% is absorbed.  However, in doses over 12 grams, Vitamin C�s absorption rate is only 16%.

Eat It: A � cup raw green bell pepper has 100%, while a � cup of fresh strawberries or steamed broccoli stands around 80%.  � cup of tomato juice offers 55%, while the same serving of orange juice tops out at 155% of the recommended daily intake.

Vitamin D - 15 mcg
Vitamin D supports the body�s absorption of calcium and is thus important to bone health. It is also indicated in helping nerves communicate from muscles to the brain, making it essential for movement. Its absorption is dependent on processes in the liver and kidney.  Additionally, a recent study found it may be best absorbed after the largest or most fat-rich meal of your day.  Exposure to the sun�s UV rays activates Vitamin D synthesis as well.

Eat It: In addition to three ounces of sockeye salmon or mackerel, which give about 100%, the same serving of canned tuna yields about 40%, while the yolk of a large egg has about 10% of the recommended daily intake.  

Vitamin E - 15 mg
Like Vitamin C, Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and boosts the immune systems ability to fight off bacteria and viruses.  Nuts, seeds, vegetable oil, and green leafy vegetables are the best sources of Vitamin E.

Eat It: Just one tablespoon of wheat germ oil gives you 100% of what you need daily, while one ounce of roasted almonds or sunflower seeds have about 35%.  An ounce of dry roasted peanuts or � cup of boiled spinach adds just 10%.


It turns out, you can get everything you need if you follow one basic guideline: Eat right.

Put the Right Foods on Your Plate

How important are vitamins from food�not pills

Every day your body produces skin, muscle, and bone.It churns out red blood that carries nutrients and oxygen to remote outposts, and it sends nerve signals skipping along thousands of miles of brain and body pathways. It also formulates chemical messengers that shuttle from one organ to another. To do all that, your body requires at least 30 vitamins, minerals, and dietary components that your body can�t manufacture in sufficient amounts. So you need to get them from the stuff you eat.

These essential vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients because unlike the case with macronutrients � protein, fat, and carbohydrates � your body needs only tiny amounts of micronutrients. Yet failing to get these small quantities virtually guarantees disease. Old-time sailors learned that living for months without fresh fruits or vegetables � the main sources of vitamin C � caused the bleeding gums and listlessness of scurvy. In some developing countries, people still become blind from vitamin A deficiency. And even in the United States, some children develop the soft, deformed bones of rickets because they don�t get enough vitamin D

With all the focus on calorie counts, BMI�s, weight, and exercise, getting the important building blocks to our body�s functions, vitamins and minerals, can take a back seat in our daily food planning.  Essential vitamins are not produced by the body and must be included in meals to keep you alive.  While supplements of some nutrients are all the rage, according to the  Dietary Guidelines by experts, �Nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods.

Just as a lack of micro nutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. For example, a combination of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus protects your bones against fractures. Many micro nutrients interact. Vitamin C, for example, helps you absorb iron. The interplay of micro nutrients isn�t always cooperative, however. For example, even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency.

Vitamins are different from minerals. A vitamin�s chemical structure can be broken down by heat, air, or acid, whereas minerals hold on to their chemical structure. That means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. But it�s tougher to shuttle vitamins from food and other sources into your body because cooking, storage, and simple air exposure can inactivate these fragile components.

Your need for certain nutrients varies with your age, gender, and other important characteristics. As a rule, your best strategy is to get vitamins and minerals from food, not supplements. A vast amount of research has shown that you can cut your risk for chronic disease and disability by following a healthy diet, as well as exercising regularly and avoiding smoking. The evidence for taking vitamin and mineral supplements is much less convincing. There are likely many more beneficial components of healthy foods than the ones scientists have identified so far, as well as synergistic effects among them.

in next post we will discus what to eat to get essentials micro nutrients from food?