According to a new study, what amount can quickly benefit health and in what way.
If you want to eat healthier, add baby carrots to your life. A new study shows that in just four weeks, your skin’s levels of beneficial carotenoids will increase significantly. And you don’t have to eat them every day.
Carotenoids (or carotenoids) are the pigments that give many fruits and vegetables their vibrant red, orange, and yellow colors.
They provide many health benefits and are an important indicator of fruit and vegetable intake. And this is because the human body can accept them only with food.
“Carotenoids are not easily synthesized by the human body. Therefore, they are stored in our skin and we can use them as an indicator of fruit and vegetable intake.” leading researcher Dr. Mary Harper Simmons Doctoral researcher at Samford University in Alabama.
A new study found that “carotenoid levels increased in those who ate baby carrots three times a week. Their antioxidant activity has also increased,” he added. “This is important because they have less inflammation in their bodies. Thus, the risk of developing chronic health problems such as heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases is reduced.”
New research
A new study has been presented American Nutrition Society Annual Conference (NUTRITION 2024). The conference is held in Chicago.
The researchers recruited 60 young volunteers who were randomly divided into four groups. Each had to follow specific dietary intervention for four weeks.
The first group ate Granny Smith apples three times a week. This was the control group to which the other three were compared.
The second group ate 100 grams of chopped baby carrots (about half a cup) three times a week. The third group took a multivitamin with beta-carotene (or beta-carotene) five times a week. This substance is a carotenoid. Finally, the fourth group ate baby carrots and took a multivitamin.
findings
The researchers found that volunteers who ate baby carrots had a 10.8% increase in carotenoid levels in their skin. The increase reached 21.6% in those who took a multivitamin at the same time as beta-carotene.
However, there was no significant difference in volunteers taking multivitamins alone. This may be due to the different absorption of ingredients from whole foods and supplements. Or it could be that each fruit and vegetable has different ingredients than supplements.
“We don’t know what the reason for the difference is. This will be the next topic of our research,” said Dr. Simmons.