Food As Medicine - Carrots

Today's #FoodieFriday blog rounds out a standard chef recipe - I've talked about and  already in previous blogs, and today I'm giving you some great information about the beloved carrot.  Voila!  You have mire poix!  (Hey, that rhymed!)

For years, Bugs Bunny encouraged kids to eat carrots with his famous line, "Eh, What's Up, Doc?" while munching on his favorite tasty treat.  I wonder if he knew that eating carrots as a child is very good for keeping teeth strong, and encourages development of the lower jaw, helping to prevent the overcrowding of the teeth.  The truth is, the "wascally wabbit" was definitely on to something, as carrots also have a myriad of of other health and healing properties.

I'm sure you're already aware of carrots being good for your eyes.  This is due to the antioxidant beta-carotene, also known as provitamin A.  Carrots and carrot juice will help keep night blindness at bay, as well as help treat ear infections, ear aches, and deafness.  Vitamin A is also very good for the skin, so carrots are very beneficial for conditions such as acne and other skin lesions, as well as inflammation of the mucous membranes.  They even help you get over measles and chicken pox a lot faster by pushing the infection to the surface and thus out of the body.  The juice will even help soothe and heal burns!!

Carrots have a very fibrous anatomy, and because of this they help treat constipation with their high silicon content, very similar to , by liquefying the bile and detoxifying the intestines, removing unwanted bacteria that leave behind waste products which blocks assimilation of nutrients from your food; they even have the ability to destroy certain kinds of worms.  Carrot and carrot top tea can help with indigestion too.

Several sources (The Tao of Nutrition, 3rd Edition, Maoshing Ni and Cathy McNease, and Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford) advise that carrots have anti-cancer qualities, and indeed a carrot-rich diet is recommended for those who are fighting cancer.  A 1/2 stick of carrot cooked with Chinese black mushrooms, then consumed every day, is used for cancer prevention, as well as the daily consumption of carrot top tea.

Before you go and stock up on carrots though, a word of caution: carrots have a high sugar content, so those of you with blood sugar imbalances should limit your carrot intake.  If you are juicing carrots, include some of the carrot tops to help balance the sweetness (this does not balance the amount of sugar, but adds more minerals to the juice).

Carrots are indeed a fantastic food to add to your daily diet.  They are crunchy and satisfying, and they keep your skin and digestive tract happy and functioning normally.  What's not to love?

Questions?  Comments?  Let me know.  I'm here to help.

--Marissa Byrum, AP, DOM, Dipl. Ac., is an associate at Ideal Balance Center for Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine in Temple Terrace, FL.