BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
By RealAge
We love carrots for their cancer-fighting beta carotene. But there's another fancy compound in this orange-hued root that may need a share of the credit.
We're talking about polyacetylenes. You won't find them on any nutrition labels, but the blow that these compounds dealt to cancer cells in a recent lab study left researchers suspecting there's more to carrots than meets the eye.
Key Carrot Compounds
Researchers were particularly interested in a type of carrot polyacetylene called falcarinol, as well as a few other similarly structured compounds. They're found not only in carrots but also in parsley, celery, parsnips, and fennel. When human intestinal cells were exposed to these compounds in a study, they exhibited some pretty powerful anticarcinogenic effects. And it bolstered other recent research showing that precancerous cells were less likely to turn cancerous when exposed to the compounds. (Did you know? Carrots are good for your skin cells, too.)
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We love carrots for their cancer-fighting beta carotene. But there's another fancy compound in this orange-hued root that may need a share of the credit.
We're talking about polyacetylenes. You won't find them on any nutrition labels, but the blow that these compounds dealt to cancer cells in a recent lab study left researchers suspecting there's more to carrots than meets the eye.
Key Carrot Compounds
Researchers were particularly interested in a type of carrot polyacetylene called falcarinol, as well as a few other similarly structured compounds. They're found not only in carrots but also in parsley, celery, parsnips, and fennel. When human intestinal cells were exposed to these compounds in a study, they exhibited some pretty powerful anticarcinogenic effects. And it bolstered other recent research showing that precancerous cells were less likely to turn cancerous when exposed to the compounds. (Did you know? Carrots are good for your skin cells, too.)
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