Why carrots are good for you

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that the compound falcarinol can protect animals from cancer.
We all know that carrots are meant to be beneficial to health. Now researchers at the University of Newcastle, England, and in Denmark are a step closer to knowing why. They have been looking at a specific component of carrots called falcarinol, which protects from fungal disease like liquorice rot that causes black spots.

Apparently falcarinol also protects from cancer. They fed groups of rats carrots, or included falcarinol itself in their diet and found the animals were one third less likely to develop cancer than control animals. The research involved raw carrots - it's not yet known if carrot juice or boiled carrots have the same effect. Further research will also look into how much falcarinol is needed to protect from cancer. In the meantime, the researchers suggest you might try eating one carrot a day as part of your fruit and vegetable intake.

Source
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 8th February 2005