AIM Just Carrots

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Benefits of Carrots	How to use Just Carrots
Beta Carotene	Questions & Answers
Alpha Carotene	Nutrient Information
Phytochemicals	Benefits & Features
Juicing	Suggested Reading
Just Carrots

Benefits of Carrots

It is well established that carrots are a healthy food. They contain many important nutrients - beta carotene and other carotenoids, B vitamins, vitamin C, the minerals calcium and potassium, and much more. Of all these, its beta carotene that traditionally has received the most attention.

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Beta Carotene

Beta carotene is one of about 500 similar compounds called carotenoids, which are present in many fruits and vegetables. The body changes beta carotene into vitamin A, which is important in strengthening the immune system and promoting healthy cell growth. However, beta carotene is much more than the precursor for vitamin A. Only so much beta carotene can be changed into vitamin A, and that which is not changed contributes to boosting the immune system and is also a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants fight free radicals and help prevent them from causing membrane damage, DNA mutation, and lipid (fat) oxidation, all of which may lead to many of the diseases that we consider "degenerative."

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Alpha Carotene

Beta carotene is not the only carotenoid. Often overlooked, and also found in carrots, is alpha carotene. According to an article in NCI Cancer Weekly (Nov. 13, 1989), Michiaki Murakoshi, who leads a team of biochemists at Japan's Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, contends that alpha carotene may be more powerful than beta carotene in inhibiting processes that may lead to tumor growth. Murakoshi indicates that neuroblastoma (cancer) cells coated with carotenoids experience a drop in N-myc activity compared to untreated cells. N-myc is a gene that codes for cell growth stimulating proteins and can contribute to cancer formation and growth. Alpha carotene was found to be about ten times more inhibitory toward N-myc activity than beta carotene. Murakoshi concludes that all types of carotenoids should be studied for possible health benefits.

In sum, alpha carotene and beta carotene, like all nutrients found in vegetables and fruits, have health benefits. Indeed, the 1995 Dietary guidelines for Americans, released by the United States government, states that, "The antioxidant nutrients found in plant foods (vitamin C, carotene, vitamin E and the mineral selenium) are presently of great interest to scientist and the public because of their potentially beneficial role in reducing the risk of cancer and certain other chronic diseases."

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Phytochemicals

Many claims about plants and health have not been tested in clinical double-blind tests or by other traditional means. Should we believe them? The universal acceptance of the benefits of plant Phytochemicals - substances found in plants that might play a role in preventive health - might at least nudge us toward the willingness to accept the possibility that plants have benefits.

Some of the research on Phytochemicals is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has launched a multimillion-dollor project to find, isolate, and study Phytochemicals. The result of this and similar research is an ever-increasing wealth of data that points to the possible positive effect of fruits and vegetables on our health.

For example, research has shown that broccoli contains a substance, sulforaphane, that may prevent even cure, breast cancer. Citrus fruits contain limone, which increases the activity of enzymes that eliminate carcinogens. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and similar vegetables contain indoles, which might lower the risk of breast cancer. Currently in the news is genistein, a substance found in soy beans which may block tumor growth, and lycopene, a component of tomatoes which has been linked to reduced risk of prostate cancer.

One of the results of this research is that the NCI recommends that we eat five servings of vegetables and three servings of fruits a day.

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Juicing

Juicing adds to the benefits of carrots. Because juicing removes the fiber, the important nutrients and Phytochemicals found in carrots and other plants are absorbed more easily by our bodies. - sometimes within minutes - without too much effort on the part of the digestive system. As well, more of the nutrients are absorbed: fiber is not present to escort some of them out of the body.

How healthy is juicing? A handbook distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture list the following riches in one glass of juice from one-half pound of fresh carrots: 12 g of protein, 18 g of carbohydrates, 69 mg of calcium, 1.3 mg of iron, 635 mg of potassium, 20,460 International Units (IUs) of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, 15 mg of vitamin C, and small amounts of the B vitamins.

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices also are rich in enzymes. Enzymes spark the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body; they are essential for the digestion and absorption of food, for conversion of foodstuffs into body tissue, and for the production of energy at cellular level. In fact, enzymes, are essential for most of the building and rebuilding that goes on in our bodies every day. Without enzymes, and the spark they provide, we would be helpless: a bag of bones, unable to walk, talk, blink, or breathe. When foods are cooked, enzymes can be destroyed; that is why raw foods and juices are so important to us. They provide us with an excellent source of all-important enzymes.

Juicing provides another substance that is essential for good health - water. Water is essential in the digestive and transportation of food, in the elimination of waste, in the lubrication of joints, in the regulation of body temperature, and in cellular processes; all physiological functions rely on water in one way or another. Most health professionals recommend that we drink eight glasses of water per day.

It is important that we drink good water. Many of the fluids that we do drink - coffee, tea, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, artificially flavored drinks, and even tap water - contain substances that are harmful and might require additional water for our bodies to eliminate. Fruit and vegetable juices provide natural water straight from nature. Be sure to use purified or filtered water with Just Carrots.

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Just Carrots

Just Carrots comes as freeze-dried crystals or tablets. The crystals are concentrated 25 times, which means that 25 pounds of raw carrots are used to make one pound of Just Carrot crystals. The caplets are formed from the crystals. Just Carrots is 100 percent natural carrot juice crystals or caplets with only the fiber removed.

Just Carrots has one of the highest sources of natural beta carotene - up to 360* percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Drinking one glass of Just Carrots provides you with 18,000 to 20,000* IUs of beta carotene. In addition to beta carotene, Just Carrots contains vitamin C, calcium and potassium. Just Carrots is monitored for maximum nutrient levels. A single serving of Just Carrots crystals contains 40* calories; a single serving of caplets contains 25* calories.

When you eat raw carrots, only 1 percent of the beta carotene is absorbed into the body. Cooking breaks down the fibrous walls of carrots and increases the body's absorption to 19 percent. Approximately 90 percent of the beta carotene in Just Carrots is absorbed.

The carrots used in Just Carrots are residue-free, ensuring that you will not be getting harmful toxins. A special process is used to produce Just Carrots, which ensures that nutrients and enzymes remain active. This process does not use additives, sweeteners, fillers, or artificial ingredients to produce Just Carrots. The caplets contain a small amount on inert binders to hold them together.

*These figures vary depending on variations in carrot crops due to climate, soil, and times of harvest.

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How to use Just Carrots

Take 1 tbsp (12 g) 1 to 2 times a day. Mix with water, juice, or other members of the Garden Trio. Or, take 10 to 12 caplets 1 to 2 times a day.

For best results, place Just Carrots dry under the tongue.

Drink Just Carrots immediately after mixing it.

Just Carrots is best taken on an empty stomach: 30 minutes before or 2 hours after a meal.

You may use more or less depending on your or a health practitioner's assessment of your nutritional needs.

Shelf life is 2 to 3 years, unopened. Store in a cool, dry place (70 - 75 deg F; 20.1 - 23.8 deg C). Do not refrigerate.

You may mix Just Carrots with other AIM products, except Herbal Fiberblend. Take Herbal Fiberblend 1 hour before or 30 minutes after taking Just Carrot crystals.

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Questions & Answers

Can I take too much beta carotene?

Beta carotene is nontoxic and does not appear to affect health apart from strengthening the immune system. This is unlike synthetic vitamin A supplements, which can be toxic in large doses. People who take exceptionally large quantities of beta carotene may experience a change in skin tone known as carotenemia. This condition gives the skin a golden tone and is not harmful.

Are the carrots in Just Carrots organically grown?

Because of varying regulations and environmental conditions, it is difficult to define "organic." Wind can blow chemicals from far away and acid rain can affect the soil of a field. Some states stipulate that no chemical products could have been used for two years on the field, and other states say three years, for the crop to qualify as organic. The carrots for Just Carrots are tested for pesticides and herbicides to ensure that Just Carrots is residue free.

What can you tell me about the processing used for Just Carrots?

AIM Just Carrots uses a vacuum process. In this process, beneficial heat-sensitive enzymes are not destroyed. This has been validated by testing the enzyme activity of Just Carrots when reconstituted in water.

Just Carrots does not taste exactly like carrot juice. Why?

This is because the process does alter the taste. As stated above, we use this process to ensure that the carrots' nutrients remain intact. We feel that it is better to have slightly different (but good) taste and more nutrients than the same taste as carrot juice and fewer nutrients.

Haven't some studies indicated that beta carotene is bad for you?

Some of the media has mistakenly linked carotene to cancer. This is because, in the National Cancer Institutes' CARET study, beta carotene did not prevent cancer. However, this is not the whole story. The 14,24 participants in the study were smokers or former smokers and 4.060 had been exposed to asbestos on the job - two major causes of lung cancer. The smokers and former smokers had smoked at least a pack a day for 20 years or the equivalent. The other participants had extensive occupational asbestos exposure for 1 years. In other words, the participants in the study were in a very high-risk group for cancer. Also keep in mind that the vitamin A and beta carotene used in the study were in the form of synthetic supplements, and in the many epidemiological studies that show positive results, these vitamins were in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables.

What this test probably shows is that beta carotene did not prevent smokers and those exposed to asbestos from developing lung cancer; by the time they started taking beta carotene, they were probably well along the road to lung cancer. Some health practitioners caution that smokers should not use synthetic beta carotene.

We also should consider the years of positive results of beta carotene tests; the many human studies that show that beta carotene might, along with other substances found in plants, protect against tumors and heart disease; and the National Cancer Institutes' advise that, for those who wish to reduce their risk of cancer, it is prudent to adopt a low-fat diet containing plenty of fruits, vegetables, and grains. In other words, use natural products.

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Nutrient Information

Protein 10%

Fat 1.5%

Carbohydrates 72%

Iron 2.5 mg/100 g

Calcium 215 mg/100 mg

Vitamin A activity 144,000 IU/100 g (as beta carotene)

Vitamin C 35 mg/100 mg

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Benefits & Features

Benefits

General tonic for the body

Antioxidant - beta carotene