The thick layers of cellulose on the cell walls of raw carrots prevent your body from digesting and fully absorbing the vitamins and minerals in these vegetables. By juicing carrots, you break down these cell walls and increase the concentration of carrots that you can consume. Although juicing makes carrot juice more nutrient-dense than raw carrots, carrot juice is still low in calories and fat, while high in vitamins and minerals, making carrot juice a good addition to a weight loss program.
A woman drinking a glass of carrot juice at a cafe downtown. Photo Credit encrier/iStock/Getty Images
Vitamins A, C and K
One cup of carrot juice contains more than 250 percent of your daily vitamin A, which plays a role in healing muscles after workouts, bone health and muscle growth. The vitamin C in carrot juice helps regulate blood sugar and has effects similar to vitamin A, with 22.3 percent of a man's and 26.8 percent of a woman's daily intake in one cup. A cup of carrot juice also contains 30.5 percent of a man's and 40.7 percent of a woman's vitamin K. As nutrition experts Jane Higdon and Victoria Drake note in their 2011 book "An Evidence-Based Approach to Vitamins and Minerals," vitamin K is essential to the function of proteins that help calcium bind to, build and repair bones.
In addition to promoting a healthy workout through these muscle and bone strengthening benefits, a cup of carrot juice is a great source of vitamins B1, B2 and B6. These vitamins are essential to breaking down glucose, fats and protein, thus increasing your ability to build muscle, boost your metabolism and lose weight. These B vitamins also lower stress and depression, both of which prevent weight loss at high levels. As Lynn Haley reports in the January 2006 issue of "DOC News," managing stress and depression can boost weight loss, prevent regaining weight and lower your risk of obesity.
Minerals
A cup of carrot juice contains 6.1 percent of a reproductive-aged woman's iron intake, with the same amount accounting for 13.6 percent of the lower iron needs of men and post-menopausal women. This element promotes weight loss by increasing exercise capacity, sports performance, oxygen transport and energy. A cup of carrot juice contains 14.1 percent of your daily phosphorous. This element helps build, repair and maintain muscles, decreases pain after a workout and boosts your body's energy use.
In addition to having effects similar to those of phosphorous, the 14.7 percent of your daily potassium in a cup of carrot juice promotes bone health and helps lower blood pressure. Men can obtain 13.3 percent of their manganese and 7.8 percent of their magnesium from a cup of carrot juice, while women get approximately 17.1 percent and 10.3 percent of these minerals, respectively. In addition to effects similar to those of potassium, both of these minerals help regulate blood sugar and may reduce weight loss due to diabetes.
In addition to having effects similar to those of phosphorous, the 14.7 percent of your daily potassium in a cup of carrot juice promotes bone health and helps lower blood pressure. Men can obtain 13.3 percent of their manganese and 7.8 percent of their magnesium from a cup of carrot juice, while women get approximately 17.1 percent and 10.3 percent of these minerals, respectively. In addition to effects similar to those of potassium, both of these minerals help regulate blood sugar and may reduce weight loss due to diabetes.
Macronutrients
Despite these high levels of vitamins and minerals, a cup of carrot juice contains only 94 calories, 0.4 g of fat, 21.9 g of carbohydrates and 9.2 g of sugar. As weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you consume, low-calorie, nutrient-dense carrot juice is a great way to meet both your daily nutritional needs and weight loss goals. With 1.9 g of fiber, a cup of carrot juice also promotes healthy digestion, regulates blood sugar levels and helps you feel full for a longer period of time on relatively few calories.
www.livestrong.com
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