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The Womens Section
Why Women should eat Carrots: A high vitamin
A and Beta Carotene content mean that the following problems often suffered
by women can be helped through carrot consumption.
Beware during motherhood
People say that pregnant women should not eat carrots because they contain vitamin A and could induce malformations in the baby. Is this true? Doctors say no. Carrots are OK, but the vitamin supplements can be a factor.
Vitamin
A is an important essential nutrient that you can get from certain foods
and in multivitamins and supplements. In doses well over 10,000 units per
day, vitamin A has been found to induce fetal malformations of the face and
heart, and other problems. And in experimental animals, retinoids -- including
vitamin A -- have produced defects involving the central nervous system,
limbs and cardiovascular system, and behavioural
abnormalities.
Vegetables such as carrots contain provitamin A compounds called carotenoids, the most common of which is beta-carotene. When you eat carrots, your body converts only as much beta-carotene into vitamin A as it needs, so eating even a lot of beta-carotene-rich carrots will not increase the level of vitamin A in your blood.
The average healthy diet will not significantly raise your vitamin A level. But certain supplements contain much more than the safe daily dose limit of 10,000 international units (IU). If you take too much vitamin A in supplement form, or by ingesting certain foods that contain large amounts of it, such as liver, you could raise your blood level to the unhealthy range.
Most pre natal vitamin supplements contain 4,000 IU to 5,000 IU of vitamin A, which is about twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) and less than half the safe maximum dose of 10,000 IU.
You could easily top 10,000 IU per day if you take additional supplements of high-dose vitamins or if you regularly eat liver, which contains on average of four to 12 times the RDA for vitamin A. Enriched foods such as fortified cereals or dairy products may also contain large doses of vitamin A.
To keep from ingesting too much vitamin A, avoid supplements that are enriched with it before and during pregnancy, except for the prenatal vitamins recommended by your doctor or midwife.
Taken in wine, or boiled in wine and taken, the seeds help conception. Strangely enough the seeds made into a tea have been used for centuries as a contraceptive. Even the well-known fifth century physician/herbalist, Hippocrates prescribed it as an abortifacient. When herbal lore such as this survives the test of time, there is a good chance there is some truth behind it. Click here to read more.
| Wondercup Breast Cream |
Many women use
"Wondercup" breast cream. Carrot was chosen
as a chief ingredient of wondercup because: " It contains components with
estrogenic activities, most notably beta carotene, which, like all
phytoestrogens, is a substance similar to female hormones, and therefore
able to regulate their production in the body, thus stimulating the natural
development of the breast, the main receptor of estrogens in the female
body."
This property is confirmed by the traditional use of carrot as a stimulant
to the production of mother's milk - indeed it acts on the breast by promoting
the development of the mammary glands.
| Cosmetic use |
Carrot has been regarded by the ancient healers as the 'herbal healer' of skin diseases. Indeed Vitamin A or betacarotene, of which carrot is rich, can be considered the main vitamins for the skin. Dry skin, with impurities, acne, difficulty in tanning, sunburns, eritema, premature appearance of wrinkles - all these things can depend largely on an insufficient intake of this vitamin.
Carrot is therefore very useful for the skin for its properties:
Anti-inflammatory, revitalizes and tones the skin. Used to treat dermatitis, eczema, rashes, as well as wrinkles (for its antioxidant properties which fight the damage to tissues caused by free radicals). Used also to promote the healing of cuts, abrasions and stubborn sores. Carrot seed diluted in wheatgerm oil is recommended as a suntan lotion. It is indeed used in some suncare lotions on the market. The underground part of carrot has anti-asthenic and anti-inflammatory properties and fights psoriasis.
Eye care - From early childhood we are taught to eat carrots to improve our eyesight. Carrot brings relief of eyestrain and inflammation of the eyes.
Nourishing - Carrot promotes healthy skin and is beneficial to areas of the skin that are regularly exposed to the sun and tend to blister and peel.
Moisturising - Carrot aids in repair of skin tissue and helps in the treatment of dry, chapped and scaling skin conditions.
The fresh root, finely chopped, can be used as a beauty mask for the face.
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Weight
Management
What is the secret to permanent weight loss? If you want to lower your risk for chronic diseases, eat less! No books to buy, no complex theories to unravel. Just eat moderate portions. Portion control doesn't sell books, but it works. Most people believe that they gain weight when they eat too much, because of heredity or because of ageing. First, you have to understand what actually causes weight gain. Find out the real reasons here. |
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