While carrots are known to benefit eye health, a recent study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows that carrots can reduce atherosclerosis, but there’s a critical component.
Carrots contain beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene reduces “bad” cholesterol in the blood. A key component in the conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A is an enzyme called beta-carotene oxygenase1 (BCO1). Each of us has this enzyme, but in varying amounts. A genetic variant which helps produce BCO1 makes it active. The more active it is, blood cholesterol is lowered. In studies using mice, those that produce more vitamin A have lower amounts of lipids into the bloodstream.
About 50% of the population has the less-active variant of BCO1 enzyme. While eating carrots helps produce vitamin A, other foods containing vitamin A are an added benefit.
