A new study has suggested that an antifungal agent produced naturally by carrots may significantly help regulate blood sugar levels.
The authors suggest that carrots could be a useful and inexpensive non-pharmaceutical treatment for diabetes, although because the study was conducted only on mice, they emphasize that further studies are needed.
Americans are crazy about diets. Health enthusiasts and those concerned about their weight have tried every diet imaginable, but health researchers rarely have the time or money to properly study their purported benefits.
Among these many dietary habits are those that aim to promote the proliferation of beneficial microbes that live throughout the human gastrointestinal tract. Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) recently found that two bioactive compounds found in carrots were associated with improved microbiome composition, including species that contribute to blood sugar regulation.
“Everything we eat affects the composition of gut bacteria,” explains Morten Kobæk Larsen, project coordinator and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Research at SDU. “Eating carrots shifts gut bacteria toward a healthier balance, which benefits mice with type 2 diabetes.”
The benefits of a healthy gut microbiota are multiple. A key feature to remember is that beneficial gut bacteria help break down fiber in the intestine, producing short-chain fatty acids that our cells need for various processes, including preventing colon cancer, strengthening the intestinal mucosa and the regulation of energy metabolism.
THE study from SDU studied the effects of carrots for 16 weeks on two groups of mice: one diabetic and the other not. One group was fed a diet containing a freeze-dried carrot powder supplement, which was found at the end of the study to have had a positive effect on blood sugar regulation.
KEEP THEM IN THE KITCHEN: Keep away all Christmas spices – they are powerful antioxidants known as “nutraceuticals”
“Our study showed that carrots changed the composition of the gut microbiome, the billions of microorganisms living in the gut that play a crucial role in digestion and health. Mice consuming carrots had a healthier balance of gut bacteria,” Larsen said.
The main bioactive compounds in carrots are called falcarinol and falcarindiol and are produced by carrots and members of the carrot family like parsnips, fennel and parsley, in an effort to defend against fungal infections. These phytonutrients are just two of many – from fruits and vegetables of all kinds – that appear to confer fitness-enhancing effects on the humans who consume them.
MORE FOOD-FOCUSED HEALTH: Dark chocolate consumption linked to lower risk of type 2 diabetes in large study
These compounds go by many names; we may have heard of polyphenols, terpenes, triterpenes or carotenoids. All these variants have similar objectives: defending the plant against infections.
SDU researchers told Sci-tech Daily that they are currently in the process of securing funding for future human trials to determine whether the effect in mice can be replicated in diabetics, as well as to find out which carrot varieties contain the most falcarinol and falcarindiol.
GIVE your friends on social media a glimpse of this good news…