AIM Just Carrots ® details

It is well-established that carrots are a healthy food. They contain many important nutrients — including alpha- and beta-carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, plus calcium, iron, potassium, and many antioxidants, including lutein. AIM Just Carrots® provides the nutrition you need to develop a strong foundation for your good health.

Beta-carotene and vitamin A

Beta-carotene is one of about 600 similar compounds called carotenoids, which are present in many fruits and vegetables. Of all the carotenoids, beta-carotene is known for its efficient conversion to vitamin A. Plant sources that are rich in beta-carotene include potatoes, spinach, mango, cantaloupe, kale, and tomatoes, but the highest source of beta-carotene may be found in raw carrots, steamed carrots, and carrot juice.

The body changes beta-carotene found in these foods into vitamin A, which is important in strengthening the immune system and promoting healthy cell growth, including reproductive functioning. Vitamin A helps cells reproduce normally—a process called differentiation (cells that have not properly differentiated are more likely to undergo pre-cancerous changes). For this reason, beta-carotene, as a precursor to vitamin A, has become widely accepted as a natural antioxidant.

Vitamin A plays an important role in vision by helping to maintain the mucosal linings of the eyes, and is required for the transduction of light into nerve signals in the retina. Although vitamin A deficiency blindness is relatively rare in North America, a vitamin A deficiency may result in making the cornea very dry and promoting damage to the retina and cornea.

Vitamin A also contributes toward good respiratory, urinary, and intestinal health by protecting mucous membranes. When these linings break down, bacteria can enter the body and cause infection. Some researchers think that vitamin A helps lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that fights infections. In this way, vitamin A may contribute toward boosting the immune system.

“Results of two national surveys, the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III 1988-91) (1, 21) and the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII 1994) (1, 22), suggested that dietary intakes of some Americans do not meet recommended levels for vitamin A.  These surveys highlight the importance of encouraging all Americans to include dietary sources of vitamin A in their daily diets.” (U.S. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, October 6, 2003).

The following groups of people may find natural sources of vitamin A helpful in their diets:

• vegetarians who may have limited vitamin A intake from dairy sources, or those who consume too few beta-carotene containing vegetables
• those who consume excessive amounts of alcohol since alcohol intake may deplete vitamin A stores within the body
• toddlers and preschool children, including children with inadequate general health care, as well as those living in environments where nutritional deficiencies are present
• anyone with intestinal fat digestion and absorption difficulties, or those who’ve experienced chronic diarrhea or intestinal flu
• anyone with insufficient intake of protein, calories, and zinc in their daily diets, since these nutrients are required for the body to mobilize vitamin A from the liver to the circulatory system

Antioxidants

Beta-carotene is much more than just a natural source of vitamin A; it is also an important antioxidant.

Only so much beta-carotene can be changed into vitamin A, and that which is not changed contributes to boosting the immune system. Antioxidants fight free radicals and help prevent them from causing membrane damage, DNA mutation, and lipid (fat) oxidation, all of which may lead to many of the diseases that we consider “degenerative,” such as cataract or macular degeneration of the eye, heart disease, or cancer.

Alpha-carotene often overlooked

Beta-carotene is not the only antioxidant that is found in carrots. Often overlooked, and also found in carrots, is alpha-carotene. According to an article in Cancer Research (1992), Dr. Michiaki Murakoshi, who leads a team of biochemists at Japan’s Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, contends that alpha-carotene is very protective against spontaneous liver cancer and two-stage lung cancer in mice, and more importantly, protective against the proliferation of human malignant tumor cells. In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1989), Dr. Murakoshi reported alpha-carotene to be about ten times more protective against cancer than beta-carotene. Dr. Murakoshi concludes that all types of carotenoids should be studied for possible health benefits.

Lutein associated with eye health

Lutein is another antioxidant in the carotenoid family, and is found in carrots. Lutein is the primary carotenoid present in the central area of the retina (called the macula) of the eye. Scientists think that lutein may act as a filler to protect the macula from potentially damaging forms of light (sunlight triggers oxidative damage to the macula). Lutein, therefore, may be helpful in defending against age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

Results are preliminary and research is ongoing to study the correlation between carotenoids, such as lutein, and the long-term associated protection of vision.

Benefit of juicing

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are rich in enzymes that spark the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. Enzymes are essential for the digestion and absorption of food, for conversion of foodstuffs into body tissue, and for the production of energy at the cellular level.

In fact, enzymes are essential for most of the building and rebuilding that goes on in our bodies every day. Without enzymes, and the sparks they provide, we would be helpless: a bag of bones, unable to walk, talk, blink, or breathe. When foods are heavily cooked, enzymes and helpful phytochemicals can be destroyed; that is why raw or steamed vegetables and fresh juices are so important to us. They provide us with an excellent source of all-important enzymes and phytonutrients.

When you eat raw carrots, only 1 percent of the beta-carotene is absorbed by the body. Lightly steaming carrots breaks down the fibrous walls of the vegetable and increases the body’s absorption to 19 percent. The process of juicing reduces plant fiber as well, allowing vital nutrients to become easily absorbed by the body.

Juicing provides another benefit to good health—water. Water is essential in the digestion and transportation of food, in the elimination of waste, in the lubrication of joints, in the regulation of body temperature, and in cellular processes; all physiological functions rely on water in one way or another. Most health professionals recommend that we drink eight glasses of water per day.

• Blauer, Stephen.Juicing Book, The : A Complete Guide to the Juicing of Fruits and Vegetables for Maximum Health (Avery Health Guides)
• Passwater, Richard A., Ph.D. Beta-carotene. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1984.
• Passwater, Richard A., Ph.D. Beta-Carotene and Other Carotenoids
• Walker, N.W., D.Sc. Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices : What's Missing in Your Body?

The complete Whole Body Nutrition line consists of AIM AIMega™, the AIM Garden Trio® — AIM BarleyLife®, AIM Just Carrots®, and AIM RediBeets®. Use these products for a solid foundation for your health.

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