Lower Inflammation with Carrots
Video by Dr. Bryan Stephens
Carrots in your green smoothie for nutritional foundation to lower inflammation
A common healthy snack for my family growing up was carrots. They are easy to snack on and they were certainly better than any chips or candy that might have otherwise been on hand. I have also tried to do that with my own daughters. I find that by keeping fruit and vegetables handy, they will happily snack on them when hungry between meals. While one of my daughters certainly leans towards the raspberries, my other is fond of snacking on the carrots. They have a sweet flavor as well as a “satisfying” crunch.
Carrots make a healthier snack because they have a wide variety of nutrients along with a high amount of soluble fiber. The soluble fiber has been associated with a lowered risk of cardiac disease and is associated with helping out the probiotics in our gut to make b vitamins, vitamin K2, along with short chain fatty acid. The fiber also helps slow the digestion of the sugars and starch. Carrots can also be an excellent source of beta carotene which converts into vitamin A in the body.
At the end of the day, whether you are putting them in a green smoothie, adding them to a salad, cooking them, or eating them raw, there are a number of nutritional benefits to eating a carrot. My goal in this however is not to make you go out and think carrots are the answer for health. On their own, they aren’t. They, along with a nutritionally rich diet, are part of the solution along with exercise and stress management. Keep your focus on what you eat, how you move, and your stress reduction routine, and you will find it easier for your body to remain healthy and pain free.
Slavin J. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients. 2013 Apr 22;5(4):1417-35. doi: 10.3390/nu5041417. PMID: 23609775; PMCID: PMC3705355.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup almonds
- 1 cup frozen spinach
- ½ frozen apple
- ½ cup carrots
- 1 frozen banana
Use organic options when available
Add ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy.
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