Carrot juice for vegans has benefits that keep your plant-based diet wholesome and nutritious.
What’s up, Doc? Did you know carrots aren’t just for cartoon characters?
As you continue your healthy vegan journey with the Hallelujah Diet, you’ll want to focus on dietary staples that serve as superfoods—fruits and vegetables that provide you with large amounts and varieties of health benefits and nutrients.
One sweet way to add one of these superfood powerhouses to your diet is by drinking carrot juice! The crisp, earthy taste of this beautiful bright orange root vegetable is amazing on its own—or combined with other juices and foods. And the health benefits of carrot juice are impressive, too—it’s high in vitamins and nutrients, and it’s packed with the antioxidants that are so crucial to a healthy vegan diet.
Here are some of the ways you can count on carrot juice.
Carrot Juice is High in the Nutrients You Need, but Low in Carbs, Fat, and Calories
We’ll get into the juicy details of the health benefits of carrot juice and eating carrots, but all that is even better when you consider that one cup of carrot juice contains only 94 calories, 22 g of carbohydrates (2 g of which are dietary fiber—a healthy 7% of your recommended daily dose,) and absolutely zero fat. So you can enjoy refreshing, subtly sweet carrot juice without the guilt.
Carrot Juice Packs a Punch of Beta-Carotene
Carrots and carrot juice are so chock-full of beta-carotene that that’s where the powerful antioxidant gets its name—from the Latin word for carrot, carota. One cup of carrot juice contains about 16 mg of beta-carotene, more than your daily recommended amount! The human body converts beta-carotene into Vitamin A, a vitamin essential for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and organ function.
Beta-carotene is a carotenoid, a substance which, like chlorophyll, gives plants color. Carotenoids are chemical compounds with strong antioxidant properties, which are fat-soluble, meaning that the human body also needs to consume healthy fats in order to convert carotenoids into other things, most often Vitamin A, also called retinol. Not all carotenoids are converted into Vitamin A, but beta-carotene is, and it’s one of the most potent sources. Antioxidants lower oxidative stress by reducing the risk of free radical damage in the body, which helps fight inflammation, improves immunity, protects skin from UV light damage, and even helps combat hair loss and hair thinning.
Beta-carotene also benefits the brain! Multiple studies show that high levels of beta-carotene can assist with cognitive function and memory, and that this antioxidant might even be helpful in preventing Alzheimer’s Disease.
It’s True! Carrots are Good For Your Eyes!
When you were a kid, it’s likely that someone told you to eat your carrots because they’re good for your eyesight. Turns out that’s true! One of the best things the Vitamin A that comes from the beta-carotene in carrot juice does for you is help produce rhodopsin, a light receptor in the retinal cells of your eyes. So Vitamin A that comes from the beta-carotene in carrot juice is essential for low-light vision, like driving at night.
In addition, carrots contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that are found in various parts of the human eye, most significantly the retina—and specifically in the “macula region,” the back section of your retina . These particular antioxidants improve eyesight by protecting your eyes against ultraviolet rays of light, and studies suggest they play important roles in other forms of eye health, too. One study showed that high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in eye cells can slow down macular degeneration, a disease of the eye that blurs your central vision. Another study showed that diets high in zeaxanthin might reduce your likelihood of getting cataracts by up to around 50%.
But Also for Your Teeth!
In a surprisingly large amount of ways, carrot juice can help with oral health! Vitamin A, in addition to its other benefits, helps fight against tartar and plaque, and helps create strong tooth enamel. But carrot juice also contains biotin—which strengthens your gums, potassium—which helps regulate blood pressure and therefore reduces blood pressure-related dental issues, vitamin K—which works to make your jaw stronger, and calcium and phosphorus—both of which partially comprise the strong material of your teeth. So drink enough carrot juice—and smile with confidence!
Carrots Can Help Fight Cancer
Several studies have shown that there may be a link between consuming carrot juice and fighting cancer. One such review that compared several studies found that eating carrots or carrot juice showed a 26% reduction in the chance of developing stomach cancer. Another study treated leukemia cell lines with carrot juice in vitro and found that the cells self-destructed (in a process called apoptosis,) suggesting a possible positive effect of carrot juice for people with leukemia. And yet another study showed that when survivors of breast cancer drank carrot juice regularly, the odds of breast cancer returning were decreased; this is likely due to the high concentration of carotenoids, which reduce oxidative stress, found in the blood of people who make carrot juice a part of their diet. This is all very promising research that speaks volumes about the benefits of drinking carrot juice.Carrot Juice Can Boost Your Immune System
Of course, the antioxidants in carrot juice which fight off free radicals in your system are generously strengthening your immune system.
Carrot juice also contains an impressive amount of Vitamin C, which is necessary for the health of white blood cells, which are integral to your immune system. (Vitamin C also helps your body absorb iron.)
In addition, carrot juice is a good source of Vitamin B6. Multiple studies have shown that a depletion of Vitamin B6 is connected to a weaker immune system. B6 is integral to the production of calls called T lymphocytes and interleukins, both of which work to make your immune system stronger.
Another benefit of B6 is that it improves your mood, so you’ll be both healthier and happier when you’re drinking carrot juice. One cup can contain about 30% of your daily recommended amount of this very important vitamin.
Carrot Juice is Good for Your Gallbladder and Liver
Your liver is (obviously) one of the most important organs in your body. It produces bile, which is used to break down the fat in your diet. Your gallbladder is where bile is stored until it is emptied into the small intestine to do its work of digestion. When these organs are not in working order, you can develop things like gallstones, which are hardened bits of bile that form in your gallbladder, or even cirrhosis of the liver. Miraculously, carrot juice has been shown to detoxify the liver and gallbladder, and even to be useful in breaking down and preventing gallstones themselves. Carrot juice aids in bile production, which means that your body will be more efficient at breaking down the healthy fats you’re getting from your plant-based diet, so that your body can use them effectively.
Here are some of the Hallelujah Diet’s Favorite Carrot Juice Concoctions!
Start simple with this sweet and deliciously easy Carrot and Apple Juice.
Add some greens like collard, celery, and alfalfa sprouts to create an extra nutritional Carrot Collard Juice, where the tangy taste of carrot juice still shines through.
If you love the earthy flavor of beet juice, this Can’t Stop the Beet Juice is a perfect combination of the flavors of carrot and beet juices, with the zesty charge of lemon juice and cayenne pepper!
Try this detoxifying and invigorating Carrot Ginger Grapefruit Juice as a morning treat to get your day started right!
Here’s a really unique way to include carrot juice in a smoothie to fill your “chocolate” craving. Containing the Hallelujah Diet’s TrioMax powder (made of BarleyMax, CarrotJuiceMax, and BeetMax,) this Carob TrioMax Delight uses carob powder, bananas, and almond butter to create a smooth, sweet cocoa flavor.
Enjoy the Health Benefits of Carrot Juice Anytime
The Hallelujah Diet believes so much in the powerful positives of carrot juice that we offer three dehydrated juices that contain it for when fresh juice is not an option. We extract fresh juice and then dehydrate it at low temperatures using a process that maintains the juice’s color and flavor, as well as its nutritional qualities.
You can drink our CarrotJuiceMax as a juice by mixing it with water or you can take it in its powder form. We even have CarrotJuiceMax Capsules to make getting the advantages of carrot juice quickly consumable! You can also try our zingy CarrotJuiceMax Grapefruit and Ginger flavor, which contains the same therapeutic properties and unharmed enzymes, with a burst of citrus and ginger.
And if you’re looking to add more juices to your diet, check out the Juice On the Go Kit, which includes CarrotJuiceMax, BeetJuiceMax beet juice, and our tried-and-true BarleyMax—with an HD Logo Shaker Cup, too, so you can bring your juice with you wherever you go.
Just getting into juicing? This Juicer Comparison and Optimization Study is a helpful comparison of six popular juicers and their strengths so you can choose one that’s right for you!
