How Effective Are Carrots for Eye Health?

For a long time, carrots have been famous as nutritious vegetables that are good for the eyes. The high content of vitamin A in carrots is indeed effective for eye health. Not infrequently you also hear, parents tell children to eat lots of carrots to keep their eyes healthy. However, how effective are the benefits of carrots for your eyes?

Carrots for Your Eyes

Carrots or in Latin called Daucus Carota L are tuber vegetables that are consumed almost all over the world. For a long time, this orange colored vegetable was believed to improve eye health and vision especially at night.

Indeed, carrots contain lots of vitamin A. As you know, vitamin A is important for eye health. So it can help retinal cells to see more clearly, both day and night.

Quoted from the page Healthline, in addition to rich in vitamin A, carrots also contain beta carotene (antioxidants) which serves to improve eye health and prevent vision damage due to free radicals.

Free radicals are compounds that can cause cell damage, premature aging, and chronic diseases - including eye diseases - when the numbers get too high.

Vitamin A and beta carotene are needed to form rhodopsin, a reddish purple pigment in eye cells. This pigment helps you see at night.

Nutrition in carrots

Besides containing high vitamin A and beta carotene, carrots also have other ingredients that are good and healthy for the body.

1. Carotenoids

Carotenoids derived from carrots, are the embryos of vitamin A. In the body, carotenoids will undergo metabolism by the liver to form dyes in the retina of the eye. This substance plays a major role for vision in dark conditions.

In addition to the eyes, carotenoids can also increase the immune system and reduce the risk of disease. Such as cancer, stroke, heart disease, and osteopororsis.

2. Polyphenols

Polyphenols are anti-oxidant, antimutasi, and antitumor for the human body. Because of its nature, polyphenols function to fight free radicals that are harmful to the body. Free radicals can trigger inflammation, mutations, and abnormal development of cells. If there are no antioxidants, the mechanism will develop into a disease.

3. Fiber

Fiber plays an important role in preventing various diseases from entering the body. Consumption of fiber can also help blood sugar levels so as not to surge high. Not only that, fiber also prevents constipation and reduces the risk of colon cancer.

Other Benefits of Carrots

When asked what are the health benefits of carrots, the majority of you will probably answer for eye health. In fact, carrots still have many other benefits for the human body, including:

1. Neutralize acids in the blood

Eating carrots regularly can help neutralize acids in the blood and eliminate toxins in the body. The presence of potassium content in carrots is best consumed raw or cooked.

2. Reducing the risk of cancer

Fiber-rich foods like carrots can help protect you from colon cancer by improving the digestive system. Plus, certain antioxidants in carrots have been shown to have anticancer effects.

3. Neutralize blood sugar

Carrots have a low glycemic index. This means, carrots do not cause a big surge in blood sugar when you eat it. The fiber content also helps stabilize blood sugar levels in the body thereby preventing you from diabetes.

4. Good for the heart

Orange-colored fruits and vegetables have high antioxidant and lycopene content. Therefore, this type of fruit is good for human heart health. One of them carrots.

5. Protect skin

Although not as effective as sunscreen, antioxidants beta carotene and lycopene in carrots can also help protect your skin from sun damage.

So, how effective is carrot for your eye health? The answer is very effective. With a series of nutrients and antioxidants above, it's no wonder carrots are an important intake for your eyes. For serving, you can cook and boil carrots with a bowl of vegetable soup. You can also make fresh carrot juice that is drunk before the move.