News from my Newcastle University published today reveals that cooking carrots whole and then chopping them before serving is better for your health than slicing and dicing before you boil.

Apparently, less of the “anticancer” compound falcarinol leaches out of the carrots and into the cooking water if carrots are boiled whole. Of course, the truly health conscious will be steaming their vegetables rather than direct boiling. Chopped carrots cooked retain 25 percent less falcarinol than those cooked whole, according to Newcastle’s Kirsten Brandt, Ahlam Rashed, and their colleagues.

Whether or not roasting, grilling or cooking in carrot cake could form part of a future study Brandt revealed today.

She also points out that the natural sugars in carrots that give the orange root vegetable its distinctive sweet flavor are also found in higher concentrations in whole-cooked carrot. Their study also addressed this issue with a taste panel and seemingly whole-cooked carrots are tastier.

Brandt and colleagues first discovered the health benefits of falcarinol in carrots four years ago in collaboration with her colleagues at the University of Southern Denmark. The initial tests were on raw carrots but Brandt points out that cooking softens cell walls that allow easier ingestion of beneficial compounds.

“We all want to try to improve our health and diet by getting the right nutrients and eating our five-a-day fresh fruit and vegetables,” says Brandt, “The great thing about this is it’s a simple way for people to increase their uptake of a compound we know is good for you, all you need is a bigger saucepan.”

Original research on falcarinol from 2005:

Christensen, L., Vach, W., Ritskes-Hoitinga, J., & Brandt, K. (2005). Inhibitory Effects of Feeding with Carrots or (-)-Falcarinol on Development of Azoxymethane-Induced Preneoplastic Lesions in the Rat Colon Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53 (5), 1823-1827 DOI: 10.1021/jf048519s

Veggie news

• Cooked Or Raw: Surprise Health Finding in Veggie Report (friendseat.com)
• The Mysteries Surrounding Cooked vs. Raw Food (friendseat.com)
• Microwaving Beats Boiling for Veggies [Cooking] (lifehacker.com)