One of the best examples of how crucial it is to cook carrots correctly is that it boosts their cancer-fighting capabilities by 25 percent due to a compound called falcarinol.
Carrots contain high amounts of carotenoids, which are converted into vitamin A in your body, helping improve your eyesight and more.
Scientists say carrots release the most nutrients when they’re boiled whole, without being peeled, shredded or grated first.
Most people identify them as being orange, but they actually come in a variety of colors, such as purple, red, yellow, white and even black.
Most people assume eating carrots raw is the way to get the most nutrition, but science reveals that's not always the case. It turns out that cooking carrots whole, skin intact, without chopping, slicing, grating, shredding or peeling them, is the best way to obtain the most nutrients when they're eaten (although you should scrub them first to remove surface dirt).
Once they're cooked, they can be chopped in the manner you desire. Just before serving, add a little olive or coconut oil and butter for the highest nutrition, experts say.
Researchers also maintain that boiling carrots in their unchopped state makes them taste better. Nearly 100 volunteers took the taste test, and 80 percent of them came to that conclusion. Independent nutritionist Carrie Ruxton wondered if the same benefits might come from vegetables belonging to the carrot family with a similar size and texture, such as parsnips.
In 2013, Dr. Kirsten Brandt found in an animal study that when rats were fed carrots or isolated falcarinol, they were a third less likely to develop full-scale tumors than the others. More recently, Brandt and colleague Ahlam Rashed, from Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, concluded from another study that carrots boiled before being cut contained 25 percent more falcarinol, and as a result, 25 percent more cancer-fighting capabilities, than those chopped beforehand. Daily Mail reported:
"Cut carrots have a higher surface area in contact with the water, resulting in greater loss of nutrients compared with boiling them whole. The heat softens the cell walls in the vegetable, allowing vitamins and falcarinol to leach out. Dr. Brandt said: 'The great thing about this is it's a simple way for people to increase their uptake of a compound we know is good for you. All you need is a bigger saucepan.'"
Fuente: articles.mercola.com
